30 Seconds SummaryHow do exercise volume and intensity impact longevity?
- Intense exercise slogans like 'Go hard or go home' promote hard workouts, but lower-intensity exercise may be better for longevity.
- Research mostly examines types or total amounts of exercise for longevity, with less focus on intensity and its long-term habit changes.
- A study using detailed data from about 116,000 subjects in two long-term studies measured exercise habits biennially from 1986.
- Moderate (<6 METs) and vigorous (≥6 METs) intensities were analyzed for their independent and joint effects on mortality using statistical adjustments for risk factors.
- Findings indicate significant mortality reductions with 75-150 minutes of vigorous exercise per week, but no further reduction beyond that point.
- Moderate-intensity exercise shows marginal benefits that continue with increased duration beyond 300 minutes per week.
- Vigorous-exercise is more beneficial for those who do little moderate-exercise, but has little additional benefit for those already doing much moderate-exercise.
- Vigorous-intensity exercise offers larger risk reductions for specific diseases like coronary heart disease and stroke.
Stronger By Science
Greg Nuckols
