Adults with overweight or obesity who engage in supervised aerobic exercise three times a week for one year show a measurable improvement in a combined measure of cardiovascular risk factors, including lower body fat, blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, and fasting glucose, compared to those who do not exercise.

For adults with overweight or obesity, doing 30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of strength training three times a week for a year has the same effect on overall cardiovascular risk as doing 60 minutes of cardio alone.

In adults with overweight or obesity, losing body fat is the main reason why their overall cardiovascular risk improves after doing aerobic or combined exercise.

In young women with high body mass index, participating in supervised aerobic exercise three times a week for twelve weeks helps maintain stable body weight, waist size, body fat levels, and blood lipid levels, while remaining inactive leads to measurable increases in these measures.

Engaging in consistent cardio workouts, such as running or cycling, for four weeks is associated with a decrease in the proportion of body weight that is fat.

If you're at very high risk for heart problems, doing just 42 minutes of intense exercise a week seems to give you the best heart health boost — doing more might not help as much and could even reduce the benefits.