Many people who exercise regularly may be at risk for the same health problems as those who don’t.
New research suggests that 30 minutes of daily exercise may not be enough to make a difference for people considered “active couch potatoes.”
The Finnish study looked at 3,700 subjects divided into three groups.
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They were people who exercised for 30 minutes a day, then were sedentary the rest of the day.
Those who exercised one hour a day and were sedentary the rest and those who exercised 30 minutes of their day, but stayed active the rest.
Exercise scientist Amelia Phillips said that those who remained sedentary for the rest of the day were what the study called “active couch potatoes.”
“Sedentary behavior offset exercise,” Phillips told Today Extra.
“People who were mildly active with 30 minutes of exercise had much better body fat percentages, blood glucose, and cholesterol levels.”
Phillips said the “lightly active behaviors” we do throughout the day made a big difference in our health, but vigorous exercise was also needed.
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“In Australia it is recommended to exercise 2.5 to five hours a week,” he said.
“The trick is that you need to have vigorous activity as well as moderate activity, which is one to two hours a week.”
An example, according to Phillips, would be taking a brisk walk, but also jogging for 10 to 15 minutes somewhere.
“That’s where you couldn’t carry on a conversation, your rating of perceived exertion is eight out of 10 to 10 out of 10,” he said.
While an hour or two of vigorous exercise a week is recommended, many of them spend office hours sitting at a desk all the time or now work from home and miss out on the light exercise of going to the office.
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Amelia said things like using a standing desk, choosing to take the stairs, or even choosing to have meetings on foot instead of in a conference room are good ideas for more light exercise.
And for those who still need to find something vigorous to do, Phillips suggests getting a “BHAG.”
“A ‘big, bold goal’: Once a year, you’re going to do a BHAG like a 50K walk with friends, or train for a 10K fun run,” he said.
Watch the full segment above
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