Recent Recommendations for Healthy Adults

The next logical question is what kinds of activity are recommended? The
answer lies in a newly published article in Circulation
which is the Journal of the American Heart Association, entitled, “Physical
Activity and Public Health: Update Recommendation for Adults From the American
College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association.”(1)
For all healthy adults aged 18 to 65 years of age the recommendation is a
minimum of moderate intensity aerobic (endurance) physical activity for a
minimum of 30 minutes on five days each week or vigorous intensity aerobic
physical activity for a minimum of 20 minutes on three days each week. A common
way to estimate energy expenditure for a given activity and understand what is
meant by these intensity designations is to use the concept of METs or
metabolic equivalents. When someone is sitting quietly, they expend 1 MET. The
moderate intensity activities expend from 3.0 to 6.0 METs and the vigorous
activities exceed 6 METs. In terms of METs, the minimum goal is to expend 450
to 750 METs per week in moderate intensity activities, vigorous intensity
activities or a combination of the two. A person can meet the minimum by a
combination of moderate and vigorous intensity activity. Moderate intensity
activity is generally equal to a brisk walk and noticeably increases the
heart rate. Vigorous intensity aerobic activity causes rapid breathing and a
substantial increase in the heart rate. Jogging is one example of vigorous
intensity activity. The table below gives some examples of common activities
and classifies them in these categories.

MET   Equivalents of Common Physical Activities From Ainsworth, et al. 2000

Light < 3.0   METS

Moderate 3.0 –   6.0 METs

Vigorous >   6.0 METs

Walking

Walking

Walking, Jogging & Running
Walking   slowly = 2.0 Walking   3.0 mph = 3.3 Walking   at a very, very brisk pace (4.5 mph) = 6.3
Walking   at a very brisk pace (4.0 mph) = 5.0 Walking/hiking   at moderate pace and grade with no or light pack (<10 lb.) = 7.0
Hiking   at steep grade & pack 10-42 lb = 7.5-9.0
Jogging   at 5 mph = 8.0
Jogging   at 6 mph = 10.0
Running   at 7 mph = 11.50

Household & Occupation

Household & Occupation

Household & Occupation
Sitting   – using computer, work at desk using hand tools = 1.5 Cleaning   – heavy; washing windows, car, clean garage = 3.0 Shoveling   sand, coal, etc. – 7.0
Standing   performing light work such as making bed, washing dishes, ironing, preparing   food or store clerk = 2.0-2.5 Sweeping   floors or carpet, vacuuming, mopping = 3.0-3.5 Carrying   heavy loads such as bricks = 7.5
Carpentry   – general = 3.6 Heavy   farming such as bailing hay = 8.0
Carrying   & stacking wood = 5.5 Shoveling, digging ditches = 8.5
Mowing lawn – walk power mower = 5.5
*MET values can vary substantially from person to person during swimming as a result of different strokes & skill levels.

The recommendation also indicates that bouts of moderate intensity aerobic activity at least 10 minutes in duration can count towards the 30 minute recommendation. Furthermore, because of the dose response relation of physical activity and health, people who wish to further reduce their risks for chronic diseases may do so by exceeding the minimum recommendations for activity. From the standpoint of weight loss, 60-90 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity daily seems to be necessary to maintain a weight loss of 30-50 lbs. The recommendation also calls for every adult to perform activities that maintain muscular strength or endurance at least two non-consecutive days a week. That should include 8-10 exercises involving all major muscle groups. This exercise should include sufficient weights to cause muscle fatigue after 8-12 repetitions of each exercise.

In the next post I’ll talk about exercise and people over the age of 65 or with chronic conditions.

For Your Health – Dr. Bob

Footnotes:
(1) W. L. Haskell, et al. Circulation. 2007;116:1080-1093; originally published online Aug. 1, 2007


Making Your Exercise Plan

In an earlier post, Obesity & Health, I included this formula:

Formula For Weight Loss: Calories Out (Activity) > Calories In (Food Eaten)

In earlier posts we talked about the Nutrition side of this equation.  Now we’ll consider the activity part.  It makes sense that increasing your activity level can help you lose weight since you burn more calories.  Incorporating an exercise plan in your daily routine consists of making behavior changes and should be approached in the same way.

  • Choose an activity that you’d like to try.  A tool for determining Activity Calories on my website InsightsForHealth.com can help you learn how many calories you can burn with different activities.
  • Decide on your exercise goals and when you intend to reach them.  Goals:
    • Time of day you’ll exercise
    • Duration of each exercise session
    • How often you’ll exercise.
    • Identify the date you will begin to exercise.
    • Identify possible obstacles to starting your exercise program and ways to overcome them.
    • If there is any question about the safety of your proposed exercise program due to your age or health status, check with your physician before you begin.

I’ll talk more about your exercise plan in upcoming posts.  They will cover the following topics as you get ready to introduce an exercise program into your routine:

  1. Making Your Exercise Plan
  2. Benefits of Exercise
  3. Recent Recommendations for Healthy Adults
  4. Those Older Than 65 Or with Chronic Conditions
  5. Risks of Exercise
  6. Back to Exercise And Weight Loss
  7. Points to Remember About Starting Your Exercise Plan

For Your Health – Dr. Bob