Two investigations published in the European Heart Journal with data from more than 70,000 adults recently concluded that just 20 minutes of vigorous physical activity a week could reduce mortality from all causes and reduce the risk of heart disease by 40%.
Building on the same data, and examining the records of 25,000 people who did not exercise regularly, with an average age of around 60, and a follow-up of almost seven, researchers from the University of Sydney have published a new paper, in which they ensure that small bursts of just one minute of intense exercise during daily routines (carrying groceries home from the supermarket, walking at a higher pace to work or climbing stairs, for example) could have a great impact on the health of the most sedentary people.
vigorous physical activity
It is what scientists have dubbed “vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity” (VILPA), a physical activity carried out during routines that, for Stamatakis, has important practical advantages over structured exercise by not requiring no expense, special arrangement or time commitment, nor travel to a sports facility.
“In our research, we found that as little as three to four one-minute bursts of VILPA per day were associated with a nearly 50% reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease-related mortality compared with people who did not perform that exercise; and almost 40% in the risk of mortality from all causes and from cancer. We were not surprised to find beneficial associations because we knew that vigorous physical activity is very potent, especially when it is intermittent and repeated, but we were surprised by the large magnitude of the associations considering how little daily physical activity was involved in VILPA in terms of total duration.” , argues the author.
we have to move
Research results showed greater health benefits the more bursts of intense exercise were performed. Specifically, the maximum of 11 VILPA bursts per day was associated with a 65% reduction in the risk of cardiovascular death and a 49% reduction in the risk of cancer-related death compared with people who did not perform any activity.
“What the study tells us is that we have to move. With four minutes you already get benefits, yes, but if we manage to do ten bursts of one minute, much better. And in the end, repeating that routine of 10 bursts of VILPA daily is already getting us closer to the pattern of a person who does physical exercise, to the minimum physical activity threshold recommended by the WHO.
