Working out two to four times per week may lessen the risk of death in adults, as per a study.
The researchers examined more than 100,000 participants over a period of 30 years and discovered that those who worked out between 150 and 600 minutes a week had about 21 to 31 percent lower mortality rates.
The participants self-reported their individual levels of physical activity in a survey every two years that had questions about their health information, illnesses, family medical histories, and personal habits like alcohol consumption.
Dong Hoon Lee, ScD, MS, a research associate at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health’s Department of Nutrition in Boston, explained, “Our study leveraged repeated measures of self-reported physical activity over decades to examine the association between long-term physical activity during middle and late adulthood and mortality”.
“Our findings support the current national physical activity guidelines and further suggest that the maximum benefits may be achieved by performing medium to high levels of either moderate or vigorous activity or a combination,” he said.
Our study provides evidence to guide individuals to choose the right amount and intensity of physical activity over their lifetime to maintain their overall health.
However, while the study found no harmful cardiovascular health effects among the participants who had engaged in more than the recommended minimum activity levels, it challenged the belief that “too much physical activity” can be harmful.
Lee added another observation in a media release: “The potential impact of physical activity on health is great, yet it remains unclear whether engaging in high levels of prolonged, vigorous, or moderate-intensity physical activity above the recommended levels provides any additional benefits or harmful effects on cardiovascular health”.
