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Even a small amount of exercise has health benefits, research confirms. We tend to take less exercise as we age and fitness levels drop by one or two percent per year. Low levels of exercise are associated with both heart disease and obesity. But believe it or not, there are still unanswered questions about physical activity. For example when sedentary people start to exercise, do they compensate by reducing their daily activity? And just what is the exact effect of different doses of physical activity on fitness - even small amounts. A study of 460 overweight and obese, sedentary women aged about 57 were randomised to exercise training designed to burn about 4 calories per kg of body weight per week, 8 calories or 12 calories. To give you an idea of what that means, brisk walking burns 4 calories/kg an hour and jogging 8. So 4 calories per kg per week isn't a lot of moving - in this study it took up 72 minutes. The good news was that taking added physical activity didn't diminish what the women were doing in the background and that over six months there were measurable increases in fitness and decreases in waist circumference even in the low level group and proportionately more in the higher levels. So this confirms that getting off your butt is good for you even if it's for a little exercise. And certainly if you feel moved to, more is even better.
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