Current physical activity guidelines recommend moderate intensity exercise for 30 minutes most days of the week for a total of 150 minutes/week, or vigorous exercise for 75 minutes per week, spread out over at least 3 sessions per week. In a report published in January, 2017, researchers evaluated more than 63,000 men and women over age 40, inquiring about their moderate to vigorous physical activity. The research participants were classified into four groups: 1) individuals who did no moderate or vigorous physical activity 2) those who met the 150 minutes/week of moderate intensity or 75 minutes/week guidelines for of vigorous intensity and divided over at least 3 times weekly 3) those who met the total number of minutes per week but did so within 1-2 sessions/week and 4) and those who did some moderate to vigorous exercise but less than the guidelines.
The results demonstrated that all the active groups compared with those
having no moderate to vigorous activity, had substantial reductions in cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. Those individuals who met the guidelines and exercised at least 3 sessions per week had a 35% reduction in all-cause mortality. All three active groups had approximately a 40% reduction in cardiovascular mortality compared with those who did not report any moderate to vigorous activity.
KEEP ON TRUCKIN!!! And LET’S ALL GET MOVING MORE
Reference: O’Donovan G, Lee I, Hamer M, Stamatakis E. Association of weekend warrior and other leisure time physical activity patterns with risks for all cause, cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality. JAMA Intern Med 2017; Jan 9. Epub ahead of print.
