There are a few important changes worth noting, but the big one is: all
movement counts.
By Elizabeth Millard
Dec 14, 2020

stretching
David Jaewon Oh
* The World Health Organization (WHO) updated its guidelines for
physical activity for the first time in 10 years.
* Among its recommendations, WHO suggests reducing your sedentary
time, getting at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity
aerobic physical activity or 75 to 150 minutes of
vigorous-intensity activity per week, and focusing on strength
training.
* Most importantly, moving at all throughout the day—whether that’s
cleaning your house or going for a run—is beneficial to your
health.
__________________________________________________________________

For the first time in a decade, the World Health Organization (WHO)
updated its guidelines for physical activity, publishing an
extensive list of recommendations in the British Medical Journal.

The biggest takeaway? Move more, every day. If you already get the
recommended amount, keep going—the new report now includes a suggestion
to exceed the minimum, even for those over age 65 and/or with chronic
conditions.

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Below, we lay out everything you need to know about these updated WHO
guidelines, how they differ from the past, and how you can apply them
in your everyday life.

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General Guidelines By Age

The guidelines outline activity based on age, whether a person is
pregnant, and the existence of a chronic condition or disability.
For example, adults aged 18 to 64 without medical issues should get at
least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical
activity or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity per week.
They should also do muscle-strengthening activities that involve
all major muscle groups on two or more days per week.
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If you’re over 65, that doesn’t mean dialing back, however. WHO still
recommends that the amount, and suggests adding functional balance
and strength training at moderate or greater intensity on at least
three days per week to prevent falls and improve your body’s overall
function.

For children and adolescents, the guidelines are per day instead of per
week, with the recommendation for at least an hour of
moderate-to-vigorous intensity daily, along with muscle-strengthening
activities at least three days a week.

Sorry, babies, not even you get a free pass—the guidelines suggest
infants under a year old should have at least 30 minutes of tummy time
daily.
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Globally, about 25 percent of adults—and 80 percent of the world’s
teens—don’t meet the recommended levels of physical activity, the
report noted. This has a significant potential impact on health,
including incidence of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular
disease, depression, and cognitive function. For young people,
less activity can affect healthy growth and development, according to
the report.

Focus on Reducing Sedentary Time

One of the biggest changes to the guidelines is an update to the
dangers of sedentary behavior for everyone, including kids and
teens. The biggest takeaways in the new recommendations are:
* Some physical activity is better than nothing at all.
* Become more active throughout the day in relatively simple ways to
achieve the recommended activity levels.
* Physical activity is one of the leading risk factors for
noncommunicable disease mortality. People who are sedentary can
have up to 30-percent increased risk of early death compared to
those who are active.
* This is not a mandate just for individuals; the WHO calls on
countries and communities to take action with more opportunities to
be active and policies aimed at increasing physical activity.

Previous guidelines suggested 10 minutes as the minimum duration of a
singular exercise session, but those have been replaced by the “any
amount of exercise works” advice.

“Simply put, all movement counts, and people need to understand the
importance of being active for better health,” Emmanuel Stamatakis,
Ph.D., professor of physical activity, lifestyle, and population health
at the University of Sydney and editor-in-chief of BMJ Open Sports and
Exercise Medicine, told Runner’s World. “That could be climbing the
stairs or even cleaning your house.”
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The guidelines are meant to ring the alarm louder on the dangers of
excessive sitting, Stamatakis said.

“We suggest people see the weekly recommended physical activity levels
as the minimum,” he said. “The best aim would be to exceed them. This
is supported by growing scientific research about the serious health
problems that can come with large amounts of sedentary time.”

More Inclusive Recommendations

For the first time, recommendations include specific populations,
including pregnant and postpartum women, people living with chronic
conditions, like hypertension and diabetes, and those living
with disability.

All of these groups tend to have high levels of sedentary behavior,
Stamatakis said. For all of them, the recommendation is to aim for more
than the minimum amount of activity weekly, and to incorporate
strength-training sessions at least three days a week.

For children and teens, there’s an additional suggestion to limit the
amount of recreational screen time.
__________________________________________________________________

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__________________________________________________________________

A Wider Range of Recommended Exercises

Another shift from the 2010 guidelines is the acknowledgement of a
wider range of exercises, along with examples. The report highlights
walking, cycling, active recreation, and play.

This is an effort to highlight how activity can be achieved throughout
the day, said Stamatakis. Rather than seeing exercise as a per-session
activity, the guidelines are meant to turn attention toward movement,
not just exercise, he added.
Related Story
10 Essential Strength Exercises for Runners

One particularly powerful activity is strength training, which is
why it gets more focus in this set of recommendations than previous
guidelines, according to Stamatakis.

“This type of activity has been largely ignored, especially for older
people, but the research is clear on the benefits of this type of
training, even more than aerobic activity,” he said, adding that as we
age, the need to maintain function and mobility becomes increasingly
challenging, and strength training can go a long way toward meeting
that need.
Elizabeth Millard Elizabeth Millard is a freelance writer focusing
on health, wellness, fitness, and food.
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