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Are international guidelines for physical activity sufficient to improve health status?
Author(s) -
Foulds Heather J A,
Bredin Shan S D,
Charlesworth Sarah A,
Ivey Adam C,
Warburton Darren E R
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.24.1_supplement.618.2
Subject(s) - medicine , anthropometry , blood pressure , physical therapy , health benefits , physical activity , cardiovascular health , disease , traditional medicine
PURPOSES 1) To determine whether international physical activity guidelines are adequate to change health status in inactive adults. 2) To examine directly the dose‐response relationship between exercise volume and indicators of health status. METHOD Participants (N=65; age=44±12 yr) were assigned randomly to one of five 13 week exercise training programs: 1) 10 min brisk walking 1x/week (n=11), 2) 10 min brisk walking 3x/week (n=10), 3) 30 min brisk walking 3x/week (n=16), 4) 60 min brisk walking 3x/week (n=11), and 5) 30 min running 3x/week (n=17). Health indicators were recorded before and after training including anthropometry, fasting glucose, total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoproteins (HDL) and blood pressure. RESULTS One 10 min weekly bout of exercise was sufficient to cause significant changes in select measures of health status. There were similar changes in fasting glucose, TC/HDL ratio, and diastolic blood pressure to that seen with higher volumes of activity. However, higher volumes of exercise (30 min or more of brisk walking per week) were required to change body mass significantly. CONCLUSIONS Exercise volumes as low as 10 min of brisk walking per week can lead to improved indicators of health status. However, higher volumes of exercise appear to lead to additional health benefits. Research Support Source: Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, CIHR, NSERC Canada.