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Exercise alert: Aim for at least 30 minutes a day
As I was looking at the October calendar, I noticed that the week of October 19-25 is National Health Education Week. I found this especially timely because just a few days earlier, a friend e-mailed me an article that said only one-third of Americans know about the recommendation for a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise a day, and fewer than half of us meet that goal.
It was hard for me to believe that so many people don’t know about the recommendation, or don’t take the time, to get 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day.
An overwhelming amount of research shows the health benefits of daily exercise. In fact, in 1995, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) made the daily 30-minute physical activity recommendation for all adults.
Since 1995, the U.S. government and other national organizations have widely publicized the activity recommendation. So why are so many people unaware of it? The authors of the study in the October issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise speculate that the daily recommendation has been lost amid a bombardment of general health advice.
National Health Education Week is a good opportunity to remind everyone about the exercise recommendation.
Exercise wards off diseases
“If more people followed the daily recommendation, it could help reduce rates of chronic health problems,” said the study’s lead author, Gary Bennett, an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University.
“Physical activity is important for protecting against a large number of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, some cancer, diabetes, even some cognitive disorders,” Bennett said. “So the physical activity recommendations are extremely important to help increase awareness among the American population about the amount of physical activity that is necessary to reduce the risk of developing these diseases.”
“We've seen a lot of discussion about prevention in health-care reform debates over the last few months,” Bennett added, “and it's becoming clear that increasing physical activity among Americans may, in the long run, reduce some of the major costs that burden our health-care system.”
Finding time
As a father of two young children, some days it’s tough to get enough free time for a full 30-minute workout. But you don’t have to do it all at once; 10 minutes at a time is fine. As long as the activity is at least moderate, 10 minutes here, and 10 minutes there can help add up to 30 in a day.
There are lots of ways to get in 10 minutes, such as taking a brisk walk, pushing a lawn mower, biking to the store, or even shoveling in the winter. Those are just a few examples.
The CDC Web site provides physical activity guidelines for children and adults. Take a look at it and help spread the word about getting 30 minutes of physical activity a day.
