What's It Take to Get Fit?
Guidelines suggest 5 hours a week or less should help keep weight in line

(HealthDay News) -- As Americans fight the rising tide of obesity and the health risks linked to excess weight and a sedentary lifestyle, most are told by experts to get more exercise.

But how much is more?

People trying to get fit along with raising families, managing a career, running a household and trying to get some sleep every night might well need some guidelines.

Fortunately, there are some.

With the understanding that when it comes to exercise, more is always better for your mental and physical health, U.S. government guidelines say that you can stay fit with a little more than two hours of activity a week.

"Being physically active is one of the most important things Americans of all ages can do to protect and improve their health," Rear Adm. Penelope Slade Royall, deputy assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, told HealthDay.

For most people, all it takes is 2½ hours a week to help avoid an early death from heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, colon cancer or breast cancer.

According to the guidelines, aerobic exercise should be done for at least 10 minutes. To get even more health benefits, adults should get at least five hours a week of moderate exercise or 2½ hours a week of intensive exercise, the guidelines recommend.

Aerobic exercise, according to the American College of Sports Medicine, can be "any activity that uses large muscle groups, can be maintained continuously and is rhythmic in nature." In essence, it's exercise that overloads the heart and lungs and causes them to work harder than they do at rest.

Moderate activities include such things as a brisk walk, water aerobics and ballroom dancing. But if you want to go harder and get more out of a workout, vigorous activities include jogging or running, swimming laps, jumping rope and cycling at 15 miles an hour or faster.

But means exist to work "exercise" into daily life.

The American Heart Association says you also can get the benefits of exercise by parking away from a store and walking more to get there, taking the stairs at work and taking the dog out for a walk. (The family canine also can get the benefits of exercise.)

Children and adolescents need even more exercise, according to the government guidelines.

They should try to get at least an hour of moderate or vigorous exercise each day and engage in intense exercise at least three days a week. Experts agree that this helps young people improve their hearts, lungs, muscles and bones as well as their self-esteem.

"The development of U.S. physical activity guidelines is a positive step forward for the country," James O. Hill, director of the Center for Human Nutrition, a nutrition center funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, said in a prepared statement. "We hope this effort can be integrated with the development of new dietary guidelines to help Americans achieve healthier lifestyles."

On the Web

To learn more about the physical activity guidelines, visit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

SOURCES: HealthDay News ; Rear Adm. Penelope Slade Royall, P.T., M.S.W., deputy assistant secretary for health, and director, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C.; American College of Sports Medicine (www.acsm.org); American Heart Association (www.americanheart.org)
Author: Dennis Thompson
Publication Date: Nov. 30, 2009
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