Four minutes of daily vigorous physical activity greatly reduces the risk of heart attacks and heart failure among middle-aged women, study led by Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis finds.
Four minutes of daily vigorous physical activity greatly reduces the risk of heart attacks and heart failure among middle-aged women, study led by Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis finds.
An average of four minutes of incidental vigorous physical activity a day could almost halve the risk of major cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks, for middle-aged women who do not engage in structured exercise, according to new research from the University of Sydney, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
“We found that a minimum of 1.5 minutes to an average of 4 minutes of daily vigorous physical activity, completed in short bursts lasting up to 1 minute, were associated with improved cardiovascular health outcomes in middle-aged women who do no structured exercise,” said lead author Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis, Director of the Mackenzie Wearable Hub at the Charles Perkins Centre and the Faculty of Medicine and Health.
High-intensity physical activity that forms part of a daily routine is known as “vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity”(VILPA). Longer sessions of VILPA are linked to significantly lower cardiovascular disease risk. The researchers say that, given fewer than 20 percent of middle-aged or older adults engage in regular structured exercise, engaging in VILPA could be a good alternative.
Read more at University of Sydney
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