S.It can be difficult to squeeze exercise into your busy schedule. But as long as exercise gets his heart pumping, he’s less likely to die prematurely after doing just 15 minutes of physical activity a week than if he didn’t exercise at all, according to a new study. .
In a study published on October 27, European Heart Journal, Using the dataset, researchers followed approximately 72,000 people in the UK between the ages of 40 and 69 who were free of cardiovascular disease and cancer at enrollment for approximately seven years. The researchers focused on the week everyone wore activity trackers on their wrists at the start of the study. For those who spent at least 10 minutes, the risk was halved, and for those who spent more than 60 minutes, the risk dropped to 1%. Overall, the researchers estimated that 15 to 20 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week was associated with a 16% to 40% reduction in mortality risk.
It’s no surprise that the more time people spend in vigorous physical activity, the greater the longevity benefits. Matthew Ahmadi, a research fellow at the University of Sydney and lead author of the study, says. Many people who engaged in vigorous physical activity were not included, so the potential maximum benefit from engaging in more vigorous physical activity is unknown.)
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Even if people don’t have time to go to the gym, research shows it’s possible to reap the health benefits of daily activity because short-term exercise can add up, Ahmadi said. He suggests picking up your pace or doing more intensely what you’re already doing, like walking, gardening, or doing household chores. “The physical activity that a person is doing provides the opportunity to engage in vigorous physical activity if it can be performed at a faster pace or at a higher intensity, even for short periods of time,” he says. What is considered to be depends on your level of fitness, but a good sign that you are doing it is having a difficult conversation.
A similar observational study was also conducted on October 27. European Heart Journal by another group of researchers, It also suggests that the intensity of physical activity, not just the amount of time spent exercising, is important for reducing cardiovascular disease. In the study, which also looked at adults of the same age in the same UK dataset, researchers followed about 88,000 people for about seven years.
After analyzing data from weeks in which people used activity trackers, the researchers found that doing more vigorous physical activity was associated with a reduction in cardiovascular disease in people, even if they didn’t spend more time exercising. For example, people who walked 7 minutes fast during the week, but not those who walked 14 minutes slowly, had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
Both studies were observational, meaning they could not prove that physical activity was the reason people who were physically active lived longer or had less cardiovascular disease than those who did not. increase. A week of physical activity is also just a snapshot, and people’s habits may have changed later. However, other studies have also found that short periods of intense exercise may reduce the risk of death.One of his 2011 studies published in lancet They found that 15 minutes of physical activity a day may reduce the risk of premature death. 2014 study Journal of the American College of Cardiology Researchers have found that just 5-10 minutes of running a day can reduce premature death from all causes.
Paddy Dempsey, author of the Cardiovascular Disease Study and a research fellow at the University of Cambridge, said the new study does not mean that total time spent on the move is not important. , performed more physical activity overall, and performed the most moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.
Any movement has value, but if you’re pressed for time, “adding a little intensity can provide unique health benefits while also making your workout more time efficient.” There is,” says Dempsey.
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