just 30 minutes a day

Sedentary healthy adults who accumulate 30 minutes or more of moderate-intensity exercise each day can increase physical activity and improve cardiovascular fitness and blood pressure as much as adults who follow a structured, fitness-centered program, according to a study in The Physician and SportsMedicine.

Sedentary healthy adults who accumulate 30 minutes or more of moderate-intensity exercise each day will get more physical activity and improve cardiovascular fitness and blood pressure as much as adults who follow a structured, fitness program, according to a study in The Physician and SportsMedicine

A total of 116 men and 119 women were trained for six months in either a structured or non-structured exercise program and then monitored for 18 months. The structured exercise program included three to five 20-minute to 60-minute sessions per week at 50 to 85 percent of maximum aerobic capacity. The other group participated in unregulated moderate-intensity physical activity for at least 30 minutes a day.

	non-structured	structured
calories burned per day	840	690
VO2 max	0.77 ml	1.34 ml
systolic blood pressure	down 3.63	down 3.26
diastolic blood pressure	down 5.38	down 5.14
body fat percentage	down 2.39	down 1.85
total cholesterol	insignificant	down 5.11

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