The World Health Organization has always advised getting 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week. If you want to be healthy, one of the big factors is to be active in your day to day. But surely, if you are lazy, you have wondered if taking the dog or walking to the supermarket counts as physical activity.
The truth is that a recent study suggests that low-intensity activity counts, too. Walking your dog, washing the dishes, walking through the airport waiting for your plane to arrive; everything counts, even if you do it for a few minutes or a few seconds.
Being active reduces the chances of dying prematurely by 41%
The research was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, and involved a group of just over 1.500 men who first contributed health and lifestyle information in the late 1970s, and then in 2016. researchers investigated the connections between sedentary behavior, different physical intensities, activity and risk of premature death. Participants had to wear fitness devices to record the intensity and duration of daily activity for at least three days.
Like many previous studies, it was found that there was a link between being sedentary and being more likely to die at a younger age than other participants. But when it came to the intensity of physical activity, there wasn't much of a difference, according to study co-author I-Min Lee.
People who managed 150 minutes of physical exercise in sporadic bursts had a 41% less likely to die during the five-year follow-up than those who did not reach the recommended amount; while those who reached 150 minutes in exercise increments of 10 minutes or more reduced their risk of premature death by 42%.
«Basically, all activity is useful, not just the highest intensity activity carried out in sessions of at least 10 minutes.", He said. «Previous activity guidelines required this minimum of 10 minutes, but new scientific evidence like this study indicates that all activity counts«.
The study might need to expand its sample, since it only focused on older men, but Lee says it applies to women and younger people as well. There is accumulating evidence that moving more, even super-short bursts of low-to-moderate intensity activity, can have a wide range of benefits, especially in older people.
Not only will the risk of premature death be reduced, as this new research suggests, but previous research has found that including more movement also reduces the risk of dementia and depression, increases bone density, and reduces the incidence of potentially serious falls, among many others. other advantages.