How Much Exercise is Enough?
You know exercise is good for you. But how much exercise do you need to do to make it count? Do you have to run marathons to be healthy? Does a 10-minute walk count for anything?
A substantial body of research brings answers and clarity. In 2007, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services appointed a scientific advisory committee to write a report for physical activity guidelines. The following year, the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans were announced.
What are the current physical activity guidelines for adults?
For substantial health benefits, we should achieve at least:
150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity
OR
75 minutes/week of vigorous-intensity
An equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity is also effective. Additionally, more is better! There is a dose-response relationship between exercise and the benefits gained from it. The more physical activity we do, the more benefits we gain . . . to a point.
As you can see in the figure, the relationship between physical activity and health benefits is positively linear. As activity increases, a corresponding increase in health benefits follows. The line is the steepest, meaning the benefits are the greatest, when a person goes from being sedentary to moderately active, that is, accumulating 150 minutes per week.
Additional benefits are gained when a person becomes highly active, which is physical activity accumulation of:
300 minutes/week of moderate-intensity
OR
150 minutes/week of vigorous-intensity
The figure shows that a person continues to gain benefits with more activity, but the line begins to plateau. What this means, is that past the point of accumulating 300 minutes of moderate physical activity per week, the health benefits are minimal.
For example, a person that goes on an hour walk five times per week, achieving their 300 minutes, and then starts training for a marathon will gain additional health benefits. However, the benefits to health will be small. Instead, the person who goes from doing little-to-no physical activity and begins walking 30 minutes per day, stands to gain the greatest benefits from the increased activity.
Additional exercise that is longer in duration or higher in intensity may achieve only minimal health benefits past 300 minutes of physical activity per week. However, increasing duration and intensity will improve fitness. More to come in future blog posts about the difference between health and fitness!
Do you have to do all of your exercise in one bout?
No! You can accumulate your total 150 minutes in 30 minute bouts, five times per week, for example. Or you could even do three 10-minute bouts per day, five days per week. For example, a 10-minute walk with your dog before and after work, and a 10-minute walk over your lunch break achieves your 150 minutes of weekly moderate activity.
In summary, you absolutely do not have to run marathons to be healthy. Ten-minute walks certainly count and have benefits to your health. Finally, exercising any amount is better than doing nothing!
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References:
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (2008). 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Summary. Retrieved from: https://health.gov/paguidelines/guidelines/summary.aspx
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