Early Morning Tai Chi Exercises, Taipei City, Taiwan
Christian Kober
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Fifteen minutes of daily exercise is enough to reduce cardiovascular risk, concludes Taiwanese researchers in the 16 August 2011 online issue of the Lancet. The idea that people can safely get by with less than 150 hours of exercise per week is welcome news to people with lower physical endurance.
Taiwanese scientists recruited 416,175 volunteers for a cohort study which began in 1996 and concluded in 2008 that studied a range of physical activities. The study participants which consisted of 199,265 men and 216,910 women were placed in one of five categories based on their responses to self-administered questionnaires regarding their physical activity level: inactive, low, medium, high or very high.
When the research team compared the low volume physical activity group with those who didn’t participate in exercise, they found that people who exercised for a minimum of fifteen minutes per day were healthier than those who didn’t exercise at all. Scientists observed that men and women across all age groups as well as those with cardiovascular disease benefited from physical exercise; exercise extended life expectancy and improved overall health. By contrast, inactive people put their lives at risk, they increased their risk of death by seventeen percent when compared to people who worked out for fifteen minutes each day.
What Does The Taiwanese Physical Exercise Study Mean To You?
“15 min per day or 90 min a week of moderate – intensity exercise might be of benefit, even for individuals at risk for cardiovascular disease.” was the conclusion made by lead researcher Chi Pang Wen and the rest of the Taiwanese research team. It’s difficult to ignore the results of a study with such a large sample size. The Taiwanese study underscores the importance of physical fitness and exercise even at low intensity. Although the health benefits from physical activity increase the more a person exercises, low volume workouts are good for overall health.
The fact that working out for a mere fifteen minutes per day can cut the risk of dying from heart attack, diabetes or stroke is particularly good news for people with joint problems, or poor physical endurance and thus can’t participate in prolonged exercise.
Talk to your doctor about setting up a fitness routine that is tailored to your needs and then get out there and exercise.
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Article Source
Chi Pang Wen et al. Minimum amount of physical activity for reduced mortality and extended life expectancy: a prospective cohort study. The Lancetdoi:10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60749-6
“Fifteen Minutes of Exercise Per Day Is Good For Your Heart, Taiwanese Research Study Finds” copyright 2011 Living Fit, Healthy and Happy. All Rights Reserved.
Do you know if the researcher stated how much of a lower risk these people were at for only 15 min of exercise and if there was any data reported?
Hi Ashley,
Thank your for reading the article and posting a comment. According to the report, people who exercised 15 minutes per day cut their mortality risk by 14.5 %. The mortality risk decreased for every fifteen minutes of additional exercise each day.
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