If you want to live a long, healthy life, exercise needs to be a cornerstone of your lifestyle. Recent studies have highlighted the impact of walking at least 4,000 steps a day, with benefits increasing the more you walk. The benefits of exercise are plentiful:
- 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
- Cans reduce the risk of fatty liver disease
- and much more!
We previously shared a post about a study, published in JAMA Intern Medicine. The results of that study demonstrated that adults who completed a combination of at least some levels of moderate and vigorous aerobic physical activity and the recommended levels of muscle-strengthening activity decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease, all-cause mortality, and cancer (as well as reap all the other benefits of physical activity).
The 2018 physical activity guidelines recommend that adults engage in:
- At least 150 to 300 minutes per week of moderate exercise,
- 75 to 150 minutes each week of vigorous movement
OR
- An equivalent combination of both intensities
The CDC provides the graphic below to show examples of activities and how the recommendations can fit into your life:
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). |
The latest study, published in the journal Circulation, adds another layer. The findings further explain how much and what level of physical activity is needed to reduce mortality.
For those that exercised beyond the moderate physical activity recommendations (150-300 minutes per week), the study found:
- Participants who performed two to four times (meaning between 300-599 minutes weekly) above the recommended amount of moderate physical activity had a 26% to 31% lower all-cause mortality and a 28% to 38% lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality. On top of that, there was an observed 25% to 27% lower risk of non-cardiovascular disease mortality.
The benefits for exercising beyond the recommendations of vigorous physical activity (75 to 150 minutes each week) also produced significant benefits:
- Working out two to four times beyond the minimum vigorous physical activity recommendations led to a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
- Additionally, adults who worked out two to four times more (meaning between 150 and 300 minutes) than the recommended amount of vigorous physical activity, were found to have 21% to 23% lower risk of all-cause mortality, according to the study.
- They were also reported to have 27% to 33% lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality and 19% lower risk of non-cardiovascular disease mortality.
Reading that participants had to perform any exercise for at least multiples of 2-4x the recommended amounts to achieve a lower risk of mortality can make anybody’s head spin. When we know that most Americans are inactive these levels can seem daunting and prevent people from even wanting to start.
But don’t let it deter you- there’s good news.
The study also found that people that exercised less than the recommended amount of vigorous or moderate activity could still benefit and decrease their risk of mortality with even a modest increase in activity. For those that meet at least the minimum recommended levels, their risk of cardiovascular disease mortality decreased by 22-31%, with the benefit increasing with any additional activity.
The takeaway is this: get moving! It doesn’t have to be for 599 minutes per week, or even 150 minutes per week. First focus on making the commitment to get started. Start with 5 minutes per day- that’s 35 minutes a week, already 1/3 of the recommended timeframe. Add an additional five minutes per day the next week- now you’re halfway to the recommend amount of time. Even if your progress feels miniscule, slow and steady wins the race and your body will benefit from your effort.
-https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.058162
-https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2712935
-https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22818936/
-washingtonpost.com/health/the-big-number-more-than-15-percent-of-american-adults-get-no-physical-activity-during-their-leisure-time/2020/01/24/2f8b4d54-3dfc-11ea-8872-5df698785a4e_story.html