Do you want to live longer? For starters, do this every day for 11 minutes

The WHO recommends that you exercise at least 150 to 300 minutes a week of moderate intensity exercise. As it turns out, in order to minimize the risk of premature death, it is worth playing sports for much longer. Research also shows that to achieve the best results, we need to combine effort with something else.

1. Research has shown that there is no limit to the duration of physical activity, beyond which sport could have a negative impact on our health
2. If someone is just starting to train, he can start exercising from 11 minutes a day
3. Scientists emphasize that physical effort brings the best results in combination with healthy eating
4. More current information can be found on the Onet homepage

The WHO recommends that every young person up to the age of 17 should do a minimum of 60 minutes of moderate exercise every day. People aged 18 to 64 require an effort that lasts from 150 to 300 minutes a week, but must be evenly distributed (e.g. four times a week). If you prefer a shorter but more intensive training, it is enough for it to last from 75 to 150 minutes. Recent research shows that these recommendations are a solid minimum to start with, but over time it is worth gradually extending the duration of your weekly activities.

Can you overdo it with training?

The results of the study, published in July in Circulation, show that spending even more time training has a positive effect on health. Scientists analyzed the data they received from over 115 people involved in it. adult people who completed surveys about their activity during the week for 30 years.

According to study author Dong Hoon Lee of Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, the lowest number of premature deaths occurred among the group who spent 300-600 minutes per week on moderate training or 150-300 minutes on training with much greater intensity (twice as much as recommended by the WHO).

In people who exceeded (up to four times) the WHO guidelines for sports, it did not cause negative health consequences. So if we have enough time and the right condition, and we tolerate physical exertion well, there is nothing to prevent us from having as much of it in our lives as possible.

However, it should be remembered that the duration of the effort is not the same as too much effort. This is shown by research by scientists from Italy. Active athletes aged 12-35 were constantly subjected to intense physical exertion. It turned out that the chance of premature death in these people increased by 280%.

Examples of moderate and vigorous physical activity

According to the Scientific Center for Nutrition Education, moderate physical activity includes, for example, a quick walk, dancing, raking leaves, trimming bushes or recreational cycling. Intensive effort, on the other hand, is: fast walking, running, faster cycling, playing tennis or hard work in the garden.

Diet or sport?

In July, the results of the study were also published and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. For 11 years, the data received by scientists from over 346 people was analyzed. people. During the study, almost 14 people died, incl. for cancer and heart disease. It turned out that the lowest risk of death was in those who not only played sports regularly, but also followed a healthy diet.

The study showed that sport itself is beneficial for health, but it will not overcome the damage caused by poor diet. However, if we have a choice between exercise and healthy eating, it is worth starting with physical effort in the first place. If we want to have the best effect, then we must also include an appropriate diet.

For starters, 11 minutes a day is enough

If we have not practiced any sport so far, but would like to start, we do not have to do it right away for as long as indicated by the WHO (150-300 minutes of moderate effort). Just start with 11 minutes of any activity a day, according to CNN, as a November 2020 study (published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine) proves. At the beginning, it is enough to dance to your favorite three songs or, for example, go for a short walk, walking around your home a few times.