‘Substantial health benefits’ gained from moderate exercise
According to HHS regular physical activity reduces the risk in adults of early death; coronary heart disease; stroke; high blood pressure; type 2 diabetes; colon and breast cancer; and depression.
By BARB KAMPBELL
The Trucker Staff
12/24/2008
For those who really find it hard to get up and get moving into some healthy physical exercise, new guidelines may make the difference.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says that adults gain substantial health benefits from just two and a half hours a week of moderate aerobic physical activity. The new Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans was released in early October and contains a comprehensive set of recommendations for people of all ages and physical conditions and are designed so people can easily fit physical activity into their daily plan and incorporate activities they enjoy.
The report stated that physical activity benefits children and adolescents, young and middle-aged adults, older adults, and those in every studied racial and ethnic group.
“It’s important for all Americans to be active, and the guidelines are a roadmap to include physical activity in their daily routine,” HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said. “The evidence is clear — regular physical activity over months and years produces long-term health benefits and reduces the risk of many diseases. The more physically active you are, the more health benefits you gain.”
According to HHS regular physical activity reduces the risk in adults of early death; coronary heart disease; stroke; high blood pressure; type 2 diabetes; colon and breast cancer; and depression.
Those who have not exercised in a while need to start slowly. The benefits of exercise will begin to show up soon with as little as 10 minutes of moderately intense exercise a day, which is incentive to work up to the recommended amounts, according to Rear Adm. Penelope Royall, deputy assistant secretary for disease prevention.
“Some is better than nothing, and more is better,” Royall said.
Scientists are trying to spread the word that how active a person is may be the most important indicator of good health. A quarter of U.S. adults aren’t active in their leisure time, according to government research. More than half fail to get the amount of physical activity that actually helps health — walking fast enough to raise the heart rate, for example. And to top that off, more than 60 million adults in the U.S. are obese.
HHS debated about how much exercise is enough. It gathered an expert panel to review all the data and found that regular physical activity can cut the risk of heart attacks and stroke by at least 20 percent.
The kind of exercise matters a lot, according to Dr. William Kraus, a Duke University cardiologist who co-authored the scientific report.
“If you do it more intense, you can do less time,” explained Kraus, who praised the guidelines for offering that flexibility. “This brings it back down to earth for a lot of people.”
For adults, substantial health benefits can be gained from two and a half hours a week of moderate intensity aerobic physical activity, or one hour and 15 minutes of vigorous physical activity. Examples of moderate activities include: walking briskly, water aerobics, ballroom dancing and general gardening. Vigorous intensity aerobic activities include racewalking; jogging and running; swimming laps; jumping rope; and hiking uphill or with a heavy backpack.
Adult with chronic conditions get important health benefits from regular physical activity, but should do so only under guidance of a health care provider.
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