At the risk of sounding like a broken record: exercise is essential to our health.
Exercise:
- Protects against osteoporosis
- Decreases the likelihood of obesity
- Helps reach and maintain healthy weight levels
- Wards off some types of cancer
- Supports our longevity
- Improves pain levels
- Reduces stress and anxiety
- Cuts down the risk of type 2 Diabetes,
- Helps maintain better cognition
- Can reduce the risk of fatty liver disease
- and much more!
A new study reinforces the benefits and shows that combining specific types of exercise can specifically reduce all-cause mortality as well as reduce the risk of cardiovascular and cancer mortality.
The study, published in JAMA Intern Medicine, shared results that demonstrate that adults who completed at least some levels of moderate and vigorous aerobic physical activity and the recommended levels of muscle-strengthening activity reduced their risks for all-cause, CVD and cancer mortality.
Rubén López-Bueno, PhD, from the department of physical medicine and nursing at the University of Zaragoza in Spain and colleagues conducted a nationwide prospective cohort study to determine potential associations between the three physical activity categories and risk for causes of death among 500,705 adults who participated in the National Health Interview Survey from 1997 to 2018. The participants had a mean age of 46 years and 58% were women. They were followed for a median of 10 years.
During the study, it was found that varying levels of aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity halved the rates of all-cause and cancer mortality. These activities also resulted in a threefold lower rate for CVD mortality.
- The optimal amount of activity that resulted in the lowest risk for all-cause mortality was 0 to 75 minutes of MPA (moderate, aerobic physical activity) plus more than 150 minutes of VPA (vigorous physical activity) and two or more MSA (muscle strengthening activity) sessions per week.
- The optimal combination to lower the risk for cardiovascular disease mortality was more than 150 to 225 minutes of MPA, more than 0 to 75 minutes of VPA and at least two MSA sessions per week.
- For cancer mortality risk, the optimal combination was more than 300 minutes of MPA, more than 0 to 75 minutes of VPA and at least two MSA sessions per week.
Previous research found “both independent and joint associations of [moderate to vigorous aerobic physical activity (MVPA)] and muscle-strengthening activity (MSA) with a lower risk for all-cause and CVD mortality but failed to find statistically significant associations with cancer mortality.” Contrast to prior research, López-Bueno and colleagues pointed out that adults did not need to exceed guideline-recommended levels of moderate to vigorous aerobic physical activity to achieve a mortality benefit.
“This might be due to the fact that [cardiovascular disease] mortality derives from multifactorial causes, each of which may reduce the risk through different pathways such as reduced incidence of major cardiovascular events among older adults when doing regular MVPA and/or MSA,” they wrote.
The study referenced currently recommended activity levels- specifically the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans and the 2020 WHO guidelines on physical activity. Those two sources recommend a weekly total of:
- 150 to 300 minutes of moderate aerobic physical activity (MPA);
- 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous aerobic physical activity (VPA); or
- an equivalent combination of both MPA and VPA plus muscle-strengthening activity (MSA) for at least 2 days.
Example 1  Moderate-intensity aerobic activity (such as brisk walking) for 150 minutes every week (for example, 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week) AND  Muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms). | Example 2  Vigorous-intensity aerobic activity (such as jogging or running) for 75 minutes (1 hour and 15 minutes) every week AND Muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms). | Example 3  An equivalent mix of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity on 2 or more days a week AND Muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms). |
Additional recommendations for other ages are as follows:
For clarity, the CDC shares these examples of strenuous vs. moderate exercise:
| Moderate intensity | vigorous intensity |
|---|---|
| bicycling at less than 10 mph | bicycling at more than 10 mph |
| walking briskly | running, or hiking uphill at a steady pace |
| jog-walk intervals | water jogging/running |
| shooting baskets in basketball | playing a basketball game |
| playing doubles tennis | playing singles tennis |
| raking leaves or mowing the lawn | shoveling more than 10 lbs. per minute, digging ditches |
| walking stairs | running stairs |
The data is clear, exercise improves all aspects of our lives. The more active we are, the more benefits we reap. It may sound daunting, 150-300 minutes a week. But a few minutes here, a few minutes there. A brisk walk after dinner. A few stretches after you jump out of bed in the morning or even in a chair while waiting for an appointment or standing in line (check out our weekly exercise posts) can significantly decrease the risk of a variety of health concerns. Why wait? Start today.
-https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/pdf/pa_intensity_table_2_1.pdf
-https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2807854
-https://www.healthline.com/health/strenuous-exercise#vs-moderate-exercise
-https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/adults/index.htm
-https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/age-chart.html
-http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=30418471
–https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22617393/
-https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23340006/
-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4270305/
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