Just 1 in 20 adults in England exercise their muscles enough

A survey suggests that only one in 20 people aged 19 to 64 meet England’s stricter weekly strength exercise guidelines.

For Jason Arunn Murugesu

More recent thinking is that strength training is important for health, but only one in 20 people aged 19 to 64 meet England’s stricter weekly strength training guidelines.

Gavin Sandercock at the University of Essex in the UK and colleagues analyzed survey data from more than 275,000 adults in this age group.

Between 2015 and 2017, these people were asked to calculate how much time they spent in physical activity each week. The team wanted to find out what proportion of these adults in England met the UK weekly health guidelinesThey recommend 150 minutes of moderate activity per week, including two sessions of strength training.

Strength training is defined as any activity that strengthens muscles or bones and is performed to failure, says Sandercock. This may include weight lifting, body weight exercises, and fitness plans.

He says strength training is important because stronger muscles in old age can help you climb stairs, dig the garden and pick up your grandchildren.

The researchers found that, on average, just 5 percent of these adults in England met the full recommendation, including strength training. But this figure jumped to 67 percent when the team just looked at what proportion got 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, regardless of what form the exercise took.

“Most of the physical activity that people report in their 150 minutes per week in the UK is actually incidental,” says Sandercock. This can be achieved, for example, through a person’s bicycle or walking to work.

The researchers found that men were more likely to meet all the guidelines, as well as younger age groups. “But the strongest effect we found when we looked at the variables was education,” says Sandercock.

There are two main reasons this might be the case, says Sandercock. People with more education are more likely to know what the UK’s recommended health advice is. On the other hand, it could be that strength training, especially weightlifting, often requires access to a gym that costs money, Sandercock says. Higher levels of education have been linked to greater wealth, she says.

But Sandercock says that lifting weights isn’t the only way to build muscle. He says that combat sports, dance classes, and circuit training are all forms of strength training.

“I’m not surprised by the findings,” he says. Anne Tiedeman at the University of Sydney. “To encourage greater participation in strength training, I believe we need to raise awareness of its many benefits that go beyond aesthetics.”

“We need to emphasize that strength training is relevant to health and fitness in all age groups and not just young men.”

“Considering the fact that age-related muscle loss and skeletal muscle dysfunction are at the root of many chronic diseases, this is a huge concern,” he says. Ken Nosaka at Edith Cowan University in Australia. “Every muscle contraction counts and even a muscle contraction of 3 seconds a day can increase muscle strength.”

Magazine reference: plus one, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0267277