Scientists are very clear that physical exercise is good for health. What’s not so clear is how much exercise is healthy to begin with, or which types of exercise are most beneficial. A recent study published in European Heart Journal highlighting the novel effects of occasional vigorous physical activity.

Vigorous Physical Activity

Vigorous Physical Activity (VPA) is a time-saving way to achieve WHO recommended levels of physical activity. There is very limited understanding of the minimum and optimal amount of vigorous physical activity in relation to mortality and disease incidence.

To better understand recently published studies, one must be clear about what vigorous physical activity is. In sporting terms, strenuous or high-intensity exercise is considered any physical activity that increases the heart rate to 70% or 85% of its maximum capacity. This is a type of exercise that engages lung capacity, endurance and muscle strength in a more demanding way.

According to the World Health Organization, exercise intensity is determined by the speed at which it is developed and the amount of effort required to maintain and complete it. In this sense, high-intensity exercise increases the metabolic rate (MET) to a spectrum greater than 6, whereas moderate-intensity exercise only does it from 3 to 6.

MET is a measure used to measure the intensity of physical activity compared to a state of rest. If strenuous exercise hits 8 METs, such as climbing stairs at a fast pace, then the person exerts 8 times the effort they did when they were sedentary.

Among sports that allow vigorous physical activity, we find cycling (medium-high intensity), running (medium-high intensity), jumping rope, climbing stairs (medium-high intensity), swimming (medium-high intensity) or activities such as football, rugby, basketball and the like.

Health benefits of VPA

To date, it has been shown that 60 to 90 minutes of weekly Vigorous Physical Activity (VPA) accumulated over 10 to 15 minute exercise sessions is associated with an increased life expectancy by 3 years and a 4% lower risk of death from cardiovascular events for every additional 15 minutes. .

However, there is very limited information on how low VPA volume accumulated through brief episodes is associated with health and mortality.

The new study was conducted on 103,684 participants from the UK who were monitored 24/7 using pre-configured activity wristbands to collect the necessary data. Data collection was carried out from 2013 to October 2021, measuring and validating the physical activity of the subjects studied to produce a reliable sample based on the results of 71,893 participants.

The conclusions from this study provide new data about the effects of Vigorous Physical Activity (VPA) which is carried out once every week. Specifically, VPA of 15 to 20 minutes/week with MET greater than 6 was associated with 16% to 40% lower mortality, with a further decrease to 50-57 minutes/week.

These findings suggest that health benefits can be achieved through a relatively modest amount of cumulative vigorous physical activity in short bouts throughout the week, as it is associated with lower mortality and the incidence of cardiovascular disease or cancer.