When I discuss with my patients about exercise, I often advise them to do the advisable amount: 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week. But three papers I read this week are making me rethink that strategy.
Two papers were published this week. BMJ Challenge my emphasis on the 150-minute-a-week goal. An American and Australian team That goal has been questioned for older adults, lots of whom find it difficult to get enough exercise. A French researcher identified that while the suggestion was sound, it's just as essential to encourage individuals who don't exercise in any respect to a minimum of do a bit.
Both BMJ papers describe exercise as a spectrum, with no activity at one end and 150 minutes or more per week at the opposite. There is a continuum in between. Getting individuals to maneuver along this continuum, with little to no exercise, little to more, and so forth, is a crucial goal – one which I plan to pursue.
My latest method
On the exercise front, I keep asking my patients “Are you physically active?” and “How much time do you devote to exercise each week?” For those that will not be energetic, as an alternative of aiming for 150 minutes per week, I'd recommend just a couple of minutes of exercise a day. Over time, I'd encourage them to extend this time by a couple of minutes a day.
I also want my patients to give it some thought, and calculate how much time they spend sitting. One option to do that is:
- Write the time you get off the bed and write “UP” next to the time.
- Every moment through the day you sit or lie down, write down the time and write “down” next to it.
- Each time you stand up, rewrite the time and write “UP” next to it.
- Add all of the minutes between each “UP” time and “DOWN” time. This is the same as the full variety of minutes you spend doing “light activity” for the day.
- Do this on two different days – at some point at work or school, and at some point at home.
You may also time your “UP” minutes using a stopwatch or the stopwatch function on a smartphone.
Instead of aiming for a selected goal, try regularly increasing the variety of minutes you're “UP” every day over the following several weeks.
Getting more exercise—even in the event you don't hit your goal of 150 minutes or more per week—and sitting less is an excellent plan for higher health.