I probably exercise 250 minutes/week. Although that is just my exercise program. I walk throughout the day typically getting between 12,000 and 16,000 steps along with that.
Note: there is a canary in the coal mine even for athletes- high levels of lipoprotein (a). And that is genetic. Since around 50% of those who die of a heart attack have normal cholesterol numbers, it is believed lipoprotein (a) is the bigger culprit. Clearly for athletes who are going to have decent cholesterol numbers more often than not.
New study finds lowest risk of death was among adults who exercised 150-600 minutes/week
Research Highlights:
It is well documented that regular physical activity is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death. In 2018, the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommended that adults engage in at least 150-300 minutes/week of moderate physical activity or 75-150 minutes/week of vigorous physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both intensities. The American Heart Association’s current recommendations, which are based on HHS’s Physical Activity Guidelines, are for at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise or 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic exercise, or a combination of both.
- An analysis of physical activity and medical records for more than 100,000 people over 30 years found that individuals who performed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ currently recommended range of duration of moderate (150-300 minutes/week) or vigorous physical activity (75-150 minutes/week), respectively, had an observed 20-21% and 19% lower risk of mortality from all causes.
- Individuals who performed two to four times the amount of recommended physical activity (150-600 minutes/week) were observed to have further reductions in mortality from all causes.
“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,” said Dong Hoon Lee, Sc.D., M.S., a research associate in the department of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston. ”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.”
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The analysis found that adults who performed double the currently recommended range of either moderate or vigorous physical activity each week had the lowest long-term risk of mortality.
The analysis also found:
- Participants who met the guidelines for vigorous physical activity had an observed 31% lower risk of CVD mortality and 15% lower risk of non-CVD mortality, for an overall 19% lower risk of death from all causes.
- Participants who met the guidelines for moderate physical activity had an observed 22-25% lower risk of CVD mortality and 19-20% lower risk of non-CVD mortality, for an overall 20-21% lower risk of death from all causes.
- Participants who performed two to four times above the recommended amount of long-term vigorous physical activity (150-300 min/week) had an observed 27-33% lower risk of CVD mortality and 19% non-CVD mortality, for an overall 21-23% lower risk of death from all causes.
- Participants who performed two to four times above the recommended amount of moderate physical activity (300-600 min/week) had an observed 28-38% lower risk of CVD mortality and 25-27% non-CVD mortality, for an overall 26-31% lower risk of mortality from all causes.
In addition, no harmful cardiovascular health effects were found among the adults who reported engaging in more than four times the recommended minimum activity levels.