Exercising vigorously for 20 minutes a day may be the best way to adolescents to develop and maintain cardiorespiratory fitnesssuggests a study published in the journal Pediatrics.
Cardiorespiratory fitness refers to how well the heart and lungs deliver oxygen to the body’s muscles and organs during physical exertion. Good cardiorespiratory fitness has been shown to reduce the risks of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, poor mental health, and more.
Study participants included 339 adolescents, ages 13 and 14, who participated in two years of school exercise programs that focused on running, with wrist-worn trackers calculating the intensity of their workouts.
The researchers found that the adolescents maximized their cardiorespiratory fitness with 20 minutes of vigorous running. Exercising longer did not improve their fitness. Current guidelines call for youth to engage in at least 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous activity. physical activity to maximize their fitness, but health and fitness experts have said that many teens find it difficult to maintain the daily time commitment.
Only a quarter of young people are physically active for an hour a day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The researchers say their findings show that when you exercise vigorously rather than moderately (for example, running rather than brisk walking), longer bouts of physical activity are not needed to improve cardiorespiratory fitness. They point out, however, that only cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed and that other aspects of adolescent health may benefit from physical activity at a lower intensity.
This article is part of The Post’s “Big Number” series, which takes a brief look at the statistical side of health problems. Additional information and relevant research is available through the hyperlinks.
