Bad News Ladies, It Takes More Exercise Than You Think
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By Denise Reynolds
Most Americans can easily cite the American Heart Association’s recommendations for daily physical activity – 30 minutes a day at least five days out of the weeks. But when it comes to losing weight or preventing weight gain, it takes a lot more, according to new research published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston followed more than 34,000 non-dieting women with an average age of 54. Regular physical activity was positively associated with a reduced risk of weight gain in those who were not already overweight or obese, but it took an average of an hour a day of moderately intense activity to accomplish that feat, and only about 13% of the women were able to achieve that over the course of the 13 year study.
Women who were already over a BMI of 25 most often did not get that much exercise, and were not able to fend off weight gain.
The authors stress not to take the study too negatively, and completely abandon all efforts to exercise. The 30 minutes a day still applies for reducing the risk of chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, and some forms of cancer.
"'Moderate intensity' means brisk walking, casual bicycling, ballroom dancing, playing with the grandchildren," said Dr. I-Min Lee, lead author of the study. She added that vigorous activity, such as jogging, playing tennis, or swimming laps, could reduce the time needed to achieve the same benefits.
One should also note that the women in the study were not actively dieting and that calorie levels were not part of the evaluation. Had the women reduced calorie intake as well as increasing activity, more may have been able to maintain their ideal body weight. Many studies have shown the combination of reducing calories by eating a more healthful diet in smaller portions plus the addition of regular moderate-intensity exercise has a positive effect on achieving successful weight loss.
The authors did agree on one key point. "We thought, 'Wouldn't it be better to prevent the weight gain in the first place so you don't have to worry about sustaining the weight loss after that?'" said Lee.
Source: JAMA. 2010;303[12]:1173-1179.
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