Exercising far beyond the general recommended amount of '150 minutes of exercise per week' brings amazing benefits to the heart.
Exercise is known to bring various health benefits to both mind and body, and many current guidelines recommend 'more than 150 minutes of exercise per week.' However, a new study analyzing data from more than 17,000 people has shown that significantly more exercise than the current 150 minutes per week can drastically reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Joint non-linear dose–response associations of device-measured physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness with cardiovascular disease: a cohort and Mendelian randomization study | British Journal of Sports Medicine
560-610 minutes of exercise a week needed for substantial heart benefits - BMJ Group
https://bmjgroup.com/560-610-minutes-of-exercise-a-week-needed-for-substantial-heart-benefits/
expert reaction to study on amount of exercise done a week and benefits to heart health, using Mendelian randomization | Science Media Center
https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-study-on-amount-of-exercise-done-a-week-and-benefits-to-heart-health-using-mendelian-randomisation/
Exercising Beyond Current Guidelines Could Unlock Incredible Heart Benefits : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/exercising-beyond-current-guidelines-could-unlock-incredible-heart-benefits
Regular physical activity is important in preventing cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes, and exercise has been shown to significantly reduce the incidence and mortality rates of cardiovascular diseases. Current public health guidelines recommend that adults should engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-high intensity exercise per week, such as brisk walking, running, or cycling.
In this study, a research team from Macau Polytechnic University in China analyzed data from 17,088 individuals who participated in the UK Biobank, a large-scale biobank in the UK, between 2013 and 2015, to investigate the impact of exercise volume and cardiopulmonary function, measured by maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max), on the risk of cardiovascular disease.
The average age of the participants was 57, 56% were female, and 96% were Caucasian. Participants wore a device on their wrist for seven consecutive days to record their usual activity levels and underwent tests to measure their estimated maximum oxygen uptake. The analysis also included data on participants' smoking status, alcohol consumption, self-reported health status and diet, body mass index (BMI), resting heart rate, and blood pressure.
During an average follow-up period of 7.8 years, the subjects experienced a total of 1,233 cardiovascular events. These included 874 cases of atrial fibrillation, 156 cases of myocardial infarction, 111 cases of heart failure, and 92 cases of stroke. It was found that those who met the current guideline of 150 minutes of exercise per week had an 8-9% reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease. In other words, exercising according to the current guidelines can significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, the results from subjects who exercised for much longer periods than the current guidelines revealed an even more surprising fact.
The study showed that subjects who exercised for 560 to 610 minutes per week—three to four times the current guideline—had a more than 30% reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease. Only 12% of the subjects met this exercise level, making it difficult to achieve, but if you can manage this amount of exercise, it offers significant benefits to your cardiovascular health.
The analysis also revealed that people with lower fitness levels need to exercise 30 to 50 minutes more per week to achieve the same effects as those with higher fitness levels. For example, to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 20%, those with the lowest fitness levels needed 370 minutes of moderate to high-intensity exercise per week, while those with the highest fitness levels only needed 340 minutes per week.
The results of this study show that exercising significantly more than current guidelines can greatly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, considering that many people are not even meeting the current guidelines, it is important to take a step closer to a more realistic goal of 150 minutes per week rather than fixating on the unrealistic target of 560-610 minutes per week.
Aiden Doherty, a biomedical informatic at Oxford University, argued, 'We shouldn't put too much emphasis on the 560-610 minute per week figure. While it's clear that there are cardiovascular health benefits to people who can do more than 80 minutes of moderate-to-high intensity exercise per day, this isn't a sensible public health message. People should continue to aim for more than 150 minutes of moderate-to-high intensity exercise per week. The more you exercise, the better, but even small amounts of exercise are important.'
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