Date published: 2007/08/19
The BBC says:
To be healthy, you really do need to break into a sweat when you exercise, say experts.
American College of Sports Medicine members are concerned official advice to do 30 minutes of gentle exercise each day is being misconstrued.
Some may take this to include a mere stroll to the car, Circulation reports.
People should do at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise five days a week, or 20 minutes of vigorous exercise, like jogging, three days a week, they say.
There is confusion about what is the ideal amount and intensity of exercise to improve health.
All agree that regular exercise is essential. The World Health Organization has said 30 minutes of gentle exercise each day could be enough to sustain a minimum level of fitness.
Recently, researchers at Queen's University, Belfast, found walking for half an hour on just three days a week gave similar fitness and blood pressure benefits to walking for 30 minutes five times a week.
The sports scientists, however, say this advice is misleading and could encourage people to do too little exercise.
"There are people who have not accepted, and others who have misinterpreted, the original recommendation.
Of course it all depends what you mean by "gentle", "moderate" and "vigorous". And no doubt many people have not accepted the advice because probably many people have not actively heard the advice. Every day in the media there are countless pieces of advice on health issues from "experts", often contradictory from one day to the next, and the best way to deal with most of it is just to filter it out, in the same way as one does with advertising.
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