How much exercise do you need to do to help you live longer? This question was addressed by Sara Berg, MS in the AMA Morning Rounds on January, 23, 2024.
This blog is based on her article about a research study on this topic.
It turns out you need to exercise more than the minimum recommendation for adults. That amount is 150-300 minutes per week of moderate exercise or 75-150 minutes per week of vigorous exercise.
Moderate exercise means walking, weightlifting, and lower-intensity exercise.
Vigorous exercise means running, bicycling, and swimming.
Research showed that “working out two to four times beyond the minimum VIGOROUS physical recommendations led to a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease.” Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the Western world.
Specifically, vigorous exercise done for 150-299 minutes per week reduced cardiovascular death by 27% to 33%. There was also a reduction of non-cardiac deaths by 19%.
Doing MODERATE exercise for about 300 to 599 minutes per week reduced cardiovascular disease by 26% to 38%.
The maximum reduction in mortality was found in research subjects who exercised using a combination of moderate (150-600 minutes per week) and vigorous exercise (75-300 minutes per week); this resulted in a reduction in mortality by 36% to 42%.
The bottom line is that regular physical exercise is important for our health. To increase the odds of living longer you need to do more exercise than the standard minimum recommendation.
A combination of moderate and vigorous exercise provides the most benefit.
Peter M. Hartmann, MD
Family Medicine & Psychiatry
