Researchers of a new study found that when it comes to losing weight, every minute of exercise and physical activity counts.
Ideally, fitness experts recommend a minimum of 10 minutes of intense exercise in order to tackle weight gain problems. However, in a new study conducted by the University of Utah, researchers found that even brief episodes of physical activity that exceed a certain level of intensity can have a positive effect on weight.
"What we learned is that for preventing weight gain, the intensity of the activity matters more than duration," says Jessie X. Fan, professor of family and consumer studies in a press release."This new understanding is important because fewer than 5 percent of American adults today achieve the recommended level of physical activity in a week according to the current physical activity guidelines. Knowing that even short bouts of 'brisk' activity can add up to a positive effect is an encouraging message for promoting better health."
According to the latest Physical Activity Guideline for Americans report, experts recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per week. Each session could be an accumulation of eight to 10 minutes. MVPA is defined as greater than 2,020 counts per minute measured with a tool called an accelerometer, which translates to a walking speed of 3 km per hour.
For the study, researchers borrowed 2,202 women and 2,309 men from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, NHANES, a national program that has been collecting health and nutrition data from a representative sample of adults and children in the United States since 1999.
During the 3 year course of the study, all participants wore accelerometers for seven days. This device recorded details of each individual's physical activities. These measurements were then compared to duration of physical activities and their intensity. Based on the results, all participants were divided into four categories - higher-intensity bouts, higher-intensity short bouts, lower-intensity long bouts and lower-intensity short bouts. Researchers also used body mass index, BMI, to measure weight status.
Researchers found that among both men and women, each daily minute spent in higher-intensity short bouts was related to a decrease of .07 BMI. However, while each daily minute of higher-intensity activity lowered the risk of obesity by 5 percent for women, there was only a 2 percent decrease in obesity risk of men who indulged in the same during and type of exercise.
The findings of the study led authors to conclude that higher-intensity activity lowered the risk of obesity, irrespective of whether the "bouts" were fewer or greater than 10 minutes.
Researchers also observed that when bouts were calculated by eight to 10 minutes bouts, no-one came close to fulfilling the 150 minutes of physical activity per week requirement. However, when calculated on shorter bouts, men exceeded the recommendation, reporting 246 minutes per week on average and women 144 minutes per week on average.
This comes as good news, especially for a country fighting obesity. In the United States, one in three Americans is known to be a victim of obesity, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This ratio is rapidly increasing and has already seen a 20-30 percent increase in the last 30 years.
Taking the stairs instead of the lift, parking your car at the far end of the parking lot and walking to the store to run errands are some simple ways to fight this disorder.
