Study Says You Don’t Have to Sweat Fitness Routine : Exercise: Brief periods of physical exertion can be used during the day for a 30-minute total, experts say.
Saying that lack of exercise contributes to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans annually, federal health officials recommended Thursday that every adult engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity “most days” of the week--but said that the workout need not all be done at one time.
The recommendation is a striking departure from the longstanding belief that health benefits from exercise can only be achieved through vigorous and continuous physical activity for 20 minutes or more, at least three days a week.
A new review of recent scientific studies has shown that the same health benefits can be gained by exercising in smaller increments throughout the day for a total of 30 minutes at least five days a week, experts said Thursday.
They urged that individuals begin consciously incorporating elements of physical activity into their daily lives. They suggested walking up stairs instead of taking the elevator, walking all or part of the way to work, raking leaves, gardening, dancing, eliminating one or two labor-saving devices in the home--or even buying a dog and taking it for a long walk.
“You don’t have to be an athlete to get these health benefits,” said Walter Dowdle, acting director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which issued the guidelines along with the American College of Sports Medicine. “It’s amazing how simple it is to get the minimum amount of physical activity that you need.”
The recommendation, which carries the weight of the U.S. Public Health Service, is expected to wield considerable influence.
And it all but eliminates the most frequent excuse of most Americans for their failure to exercise: the difficulty of setting aside a chunk of time every day to do it.
“Too many people think they have to do strenuous exercise for long periods to benefit,” Dowdle said in an interview. “But you don’t have to lift weights or go out and play a game of tennis. Studies now show that all you really have to do is simply increase the exercise you can get through your daily life--by being aware of the kinds of things you can do.”
Russell Pate, chairman of the department of exercise science at the University of South Carolina School of Public Health and president of the sports medicine college, said that, if sedentary Americans would change their habits, “there would be enormous benefits to the public’s health, with significant impact on the cost and delivery of health care.”
Officials from the CDC and the sports medicine organization said sedentary lifestyles contribute to 250,000 deaths annually. Also, they said, a review of 43 studies showed that inactive individuals have twice the risk of coronary heart disease--the biggest killer of men and women--as those who are physically active.
“A sedentary lifestyle is as much of a risk factor for disease as high blood pressure, obesity and smoking,” said Steven N. Blair, director of epidemiology at the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas and a former vice president of the sports medicine college.
Even for those who are extremely inactive, adding only a little physical activity “can reduce their risk for disease as much as smoking cessation,” Blair said.
The traditional recommendations had been developed largely as a result of scientific studies that examined the health effects of controlled exercise training, they said.
In contrast, the new recommendations were based primarily on epidemiological studies that looked at the relationship between physical activity habits and the risks of chronic disease and death, the CDC said.
Physically active individuals are less likely than their inactive counterparts to develop heart disease, hypertension (high blood pressure), non-insulin dependent diabetes, osteoporosis (brittle bones), breast and colon cancer and mental health problems, the agency said.
Moreover, higher levels of physical fitness are associated with lower death rates from all causes, the CDC said.
The scientific review was conducted by a panel of experts on physical fitness and health that was convened by the CDC and the sports medicine college with the goal of developing a new public health message promoting exercise.
However, the experts emphasized that the new guidelines still include the traditional one--that “structured, vigorous exercise can be used to meet the new physical activity recommendation.”
The CDC said participation in regular physical activity, which gradually increased throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, appears to have reached a plateau. A 1990 survey of nearly 90,000 Americans nationwide showed that nearly 60% were essentially sedentary and that the prevalence of inactivity increased with age, the agency said.
The experts called on communities to promote programs encouraging lifelong physical exercise and recommended that they be established in schools, at work and in local organizations.
“Schools are fundamental starting points,” they said, stressing that school-based physical education programs should provide youngsters with physical activities that are “enjoyable . . . and promote lifelong participation.”
Local departments of planning, transportation and parks and recreation should also make efforts to develop walking and bicycle trails and other exercise facilities, as well as ways to promote walking and bicycling as transportation, they said.
Also, physicians and other health professionals should routinely counsel patients on the benefits of regular physical activity, the experts said.
Health Alert
The study found that inactivity, which appears to double the rate of heart disease, varies by age and ethnic group.
% inactive
* All adults: 58
* Ages 18 to 34: 55
* 35 to 55: 59
* Over 55: 62
* Whites: 57
* Minorities: 64
* CDC recommends: Moderate exercise on “most days.” A CDC expert says that engaging in activities such as walking, climbing stairs or raking leaves for 30 minutes, five times a week, produces significant heart-protecting benefits.
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
