For longevity, aim for 150 minutes of weekly exercise
April 14, 2022 – Experts recommend that people who are physically able to exercise aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity every week to reap longevity benefits—but this doesn’t have to mean lengthy sweat sessions at the gym.
Researchers quoted in an April 6, 2022 New York Times article said that, in fact, it’s better to exercise in small amounts during the week than to be sedentary most days and catch up on the weekends. They suggest breaking the weekly 150-minute goal into 30-minute daily goals, which can be achieved with short exercise “snacks” throughout the day. For example, a brisk walk or stair climb counts, as long as it’s performed at a pace that increases breathing and heart rate.
Those wishing to lose weight or stave off age-related weight gain will likely need to move more than 30 minutes a day, and being more active is linked to lower risk of chronic disease. But some regular exercise is better than none, according to researchers.
“For longevity, 150 minutes a week of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity clearly is enough,” I-Min Lee, professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said in the article.
Read the New York Times article: Is 30 Minutes of Exercise a Day Enough?
