How much exercise should you do per day to improve your health? According to the expert – health

Exercise is the key to living a healthy life. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Physical activity has multiple benefitsAmong them: prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes. It also reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety and improves thinking, learning and judgment skills.

“Physical inactivity is a major risk factor for mortality from noncommunicable diseases. People who have an insufficient level of physical activity have a 20% to 30% higher risk of death compared to people who achieve an adequate level of physical activity.

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However, 1 in 4 adults around the world fails to engage in the physical activity they need to lead a healthy life. but, How much exercise should a person do each day in order to improve their health?

According to Alejandro Sarmiento, physician and scientific leader at Bodytech gymsAlthough this number can vary depending on the age, weight, and diet of the person, In general, for adults who do moderate cardiovascular exercise, that’s 150 to 300 minutes per week; Whereas for someone who does vigorous cardiovascular exercise, it’s 75 to 150 minutes per week.

These times should be divided over several days a week. For example, in the case of moderate exercise, it would be 60 minutes per day for five days (with two rest days). While in the case of vigorous exercise it will be half, 30 minutes a day (counting two rest days).

“When we talk about vigorous or moderate exercise, if we refer to objective medical standards, we refer to a percentage of the maximum heart rate. It is obtained through a formula that is easy to obtain on mobile phones or on smart watches. The intensity is said to be moderate When you’re below 77% of your maximum heart rate or vigorous when you’re above 77%,” says Sarmiento.

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As the doctor explains, there are subjective measures by which this is very easy to understand. For example, if you can speak normally while exercising, your intensity is low; If you can complete a sentence but must take a breath at the same time to continue, the intensity is moderate; And if you can’t even complete a sentence, it’s too intense.

“In terms of activities, the activity that I recommend the most and that I feel we underestimated in some way is walking. Because we all at some point felt the need to go to a bank or to an appointment or a meeting. This person feels a slight increase in heart rate and this is a moderate intensity. So I recommend those who have not started to start with this intensity, and feel that there is some kind of effort. But it is clear that without going far, no one will start running or running, ”the expert highlights.

According to Sarmiento, exercise actually helps prevent 9 of the 10 most common causes of death in the world, excluding road traffic injuries. But only the formula for doing 60 or 30 minutes of moderate or intense exercise a day—at least five days a week—can help you avoid: heart disease, stroke, various types of cancer, and diabetes, among others.

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Finally, the expert highlights that although exercise can be done outdoors, with sports or simply between daily activities, It is also true that spaces such as gyms can help make the development of physical activity more efficient.

Indoor and supervised physical activity and exercise have a better level of evidence for disease control and a 21% greater adherence to healthy behaviours. And that’s why? Because Active environments encourage active behavior. In fact, there are studies that analyze how if a person is obese, their social circle tends to be overweight. Therefore, in this order of thoughts, the fact of attending the gym allows us to join people who have the same behaviors and thus have greater commitment and maintain a healthy lifestyle, ”concludes Sarmiento.

Edwin Caicedo | Health Unit