Just 75 minutes a week of exercise is enough to make a big impact for people at risk of heart disease and diabetes, British researchers say.
Public health guidelines in the UK and the USA recommend two and a half hours a week – 150 minutes – of exercise of moderate intensity weekly.
Now researchers at Bath University, UK, say that an hour and a quarter a week can have an impact on problems such as waist circumference and blood pressure.
Researchers from Bath worked in the USA on the project, reported in the American Journal of Cardiology.
They tested the benefits of people undertaking 75 minutes, 150 minutes and 225 minutes of exercise weekly and its impact on so-called metabolic syndrome – the accumulation of poor health that leads to diabetes and heart disease.
Researcher Professor Conrad Earnest said: "Our results show that people can significantly improve their Metabolic Syndrome risk at just half the dose of current exercise guidelines, showing that even a little really goes a long way to improving health. In essence, there’s really no reason not to do something active.
"These finding show us that even those who do not enjoy physical activity can still make big differences to their health by doing a small amount."
Dose Effect of Cardiorespiratory Exercise on Metabolic Syndrome in Postmenopausal Women. The American Journal of Cardiology May 2013
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