Intensive exercise is not necessary to get through life in good health, according to a new study. A really very short walk with an intense uphill winter walk in the mountains seems to be just as effective.
Now it’s here again, the Christmas season. A time to rest, recover and pause. If it weren’t for the permanent guilty conscience that you should actually do some sport so as not to neglect your physical health. But on these cold days that is even more difficult….
A new study published this month in one of the most renowned scientific journals – “Nature Medicine” – shows that everyday activities for a few minutes – made more intensive – have similar effects as daily exercise.
Fitness wristbands are the new wristwatches
To reach this conclusion, the researchers compared data from 25,241 adults (average age 61.8 years, observation period 6.9 years) who do not exercise in their free time with data from 62,344 people who describe themselves as “athletes”. They obtained the data from fitness wristband records. The detailed analyses show that people who only briefly increase their intensity of daily activities have a 38% to 40% lower overall risk of death and cancer, and a 48% to 49% lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
What was surprising to me was that this increase in intensity means no more than in the first 15-30 seconds of 3 times 1-2 minutes per day, increasing heart rate to 77 per cent of maximum heart rate and increasing oxygen consumption by at least 64 per cent of maximum oxygen consumption. If these 3 times 1-2 minutes bring you to a total of “only” 4.4 minutes per day, the positive effect on the health parameters measured by the scientists is just as strong as if you exercise intensively.
Briefly raising the pulse rate 3-4 times a day and increasing oxygen intake (e.g. not taking the escalator) is good for the heart and good against cancer. Portuguese vending machine stamps (2005). Still, don’t forget: Weight loss is equally important for health! AFS Germany 1992; Privatpost Morgen Post 2007
So, apparently, it doesn’t always have to be intensive sport. From time to time, climbing the stairs or lugging the shopping bags to the car can raise your heart rate and get you a little out of breath, which is good for your health. That’s good news for people like me who find structured physical activity – like regular fitness classes or jogging – unattractive or even impracticable. 3 x 1-2 minutes should be manageable for me too!
Literature: Stamatakis et al. Association of wearable device-measured vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity with morality. Nature Medicine. Published online December 8, 2022. doi: 10.1038/s41591-022-02100-x