NOT SO HEALTHY

THE ‘healthy’ practices that can be surprisingly bad for you. This week: Wearing compression sportswear

IT’S said to help speed up recovery from a workout by boosting blood flow to the muscles, but a 2016 study from the University of Navarra in Spain found compression sportswear may not work as well for older people.

In fact, the tight clothing raised body temperature in the group — who had an average age of 66 — and, in some, increased heart rate.

A study the same year by the University of Essex, on a group with an average age of 59, found people covered 9 per cent less distance, with workouts in the kit more difficult.

Dr Katherine Reed, from the university, says: ‘Compression garments are designed for athletes, and the effects of compression on healthy-muscle individuals may differ from those on older people with more subcutaneous fat.’