Once you've made a commitment to an active lifestyle, the question is how much exercise will lead to better health?

Guidelines on exercise vary significantly, depending on the authority that's making them. Many advocate for 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity (e.g. walking) on most days of the week. Others disagree, saying that it should be more like 60 minutes per day or longer.

So where do we start?

Health benefits

Clearly we need to encourage people to exercise, so appropriate guidelines are needed. On the other hand, we don’t want to set the bar too high because this might discourage some from even starting a physical activity program.

The recommendation for ’30 minutes per day’ of moderate activity is a good start because there are many health benefits from doing this amount of physical activity. These include reducing your risk for:

• heart disease
• stroke
• diabetes
• certain cancers, and
• high blood pressure (hypertension).

Other health benefits may come from the fact that regular moderate physical activity appears to stimulate the immune system, improve insulin sensitivity and increase bone density, as well as other positive effects. These health benefits should send a strong message that everyone should strive to be active in some way.

Getting and staying healthy

For most of us, staying healthy is our number one priority. That means if we make a commitment to engage in 30 minutes of activity on most days (and remember that can be broken into three 10-minute sessions or two 15-minute sessions if you can’t manage 30 minutes straight), then we should be well on the way to better health and a lowered risk for certain diseases.

That doesn’t mean that doing more exercise is harmful. Far from it! Doing more exercise can have additional benefits, especially if weight loss is a goal. This is because to lose weight we need to ‘burn’ more kilojoules. To do this we can increase the intensity of the exercise by walking faster or walking for longer, or both.

The important thing is to be realistic about your goals and expectations. Most of us exercise because we know that it will have a positive impact on our lives – we’re not training for the Olympics! That means if we miss a day of exercise here and there, it really doesn’t matter. Be realistic and flexible in your approach to exercise and it won’t be a chore, it will just become a part of your lifestyle.

Everyday activities

Embrace every opportunity to become more active. Take the stairs instead of riding in a lift. Walk instead of driving, especially if you’re only going to buy milk from the corner shops. Encourage others to exercise with you – the entire family will benefit.

The take home message is simple – when it comes to activity and good health, every little bit helps.

Reference: Foundation 49