Study links higher exercise volumes to greater heart protection

A study of more than 17,000 middle-aged British adults found that exercising 560 to 610 minutes per week was linked to at least a 30 percent lower risk of cardiovascular events compared with lower activity levels. Researchers tracked participants for an average of eight years and recorded 1,233 heart attacks, strokes, heart-failure diagnoses and irregular-heartbeat cases.

Meeting the standard 150-minute guideline was associated with an 8 to 9 percent risk reduction.

The analysis used fitness-tracker data and measured cardiorespiratory fitness through a cycle test that recorded maximum oxygen uptake. People with the lowest fitness levels needed higher exercise volumes to reach the same risk reduction seen in more active participants.

The authors wrote that current guidelines provide a modest safety margin while optimal cardiovascular protection may require substantially higher activity volumes.

A professor of biomedical informatics said the 560-to-610-minute target is not a sensible public health message and urged adults to continue aiming for at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity each week. The UK’s chief medical officers set the 150-minute recommendation in 2011.

The 2024 Health Survey for England found that 27 percent of adults remain inactive, taking part in less than 30 minutes of moderate or vigorous activity weekly. >"We can’t give much weight to the figure of 560-610 minutes of exercise a week. The study authors said future guidelines may need to distinguish between the minimum volume required for basic protection and the higher volumes needed for optimal risk reduction.