In the field of sports medicine, no question has generated more controversy. While exercise is unquestionably beneficial overall, is there a point where too much becomes detrimental?
The U.S. Health and Human Services guidelines for physical activity state that adults should get 150 to 300 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week. But a new study suggests that those who exercise accrue additional dividends.
The nearly maximal benefit on mortality reduction was observed among individuals who reported ≈150 to 300 minutes per week of long-term leisure-time vigorous physical activity, 300 to 600 minutes per week of long-term leisure-time moderate physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both. That’s a lot of activity!
High-end exercisers were said to have “26% to 31% lower all-cause mortality, 28% to 38% lower [cardiovascular] mortality, and 25% to 27% lower non-[cardiovascular] mortality”.
Moreover, no adverse effects were seen even in those who exercised more than four times the recommended minimum levels of long-term leisure-time moderate and vigorous physical activity.
