New research published in Nature Communications has found that vigorous exercise, such as running, is four times more effective than moderate exercise – such as walking – when it comes to protecting the heart.

The research, Wearable device-based health equivalence of different physical activity intensities against mortality, cardiometabolic disease and cancer, was undertaken folllowing a collaboration between the University of Sydney and Norwich Medical School at the University of East Anglia in the UK.

Our findings are in stark contrast to the widely-used current convention of a 1:2 ratio between vigorous and moderate intensity exercise

After assessing data from 73,000 adults using wearables, researchers found that each minute of vigorous intensity activity is roughly equivalent to four to nine minutes of moderate activity and 53–156 min of light intensity physical activity for all cause mortality and cardiometabolic outcomes.

The findings raise questions about the World Health Organization’s guidance that people should undertake 150–300 min of moderate-intensity physical activity per week, with WHO saying this is the equivalent to 75–150 min of vigorous physical activity. This assumes that vigorous exercise is only twice as beneficial as moderate exercise, rather than the four-times impact revealed by the research.

Time to recalibrate
“Our findings are in stark contrast to the widely used current convention of a 1:2 ratio between vigorous and moderate intensity, which was derived from self-reported data,” say the researchers. “Our work supports practitioners and future trials to establish more accurate exercise dosages and define options for prescribing physical activity prescription and personalised medicine initiatives.” 

More: www.hcmmag.com/WHOguidelines