I wanted to share this with our readers so they will know they need to exercise.
NEJM Journal Watch
By Amy Orciari Herman
Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Jaye Elizabeth Hefner, MD
More vigorous physical activity could translate to lower mortality risk, according to an observational study in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Researchers studied over 400,000 U.S. adults who answered survey questions about physical activity between 1997 and 2013; those with heart disease, stroke, or cancer at baseline were excluded. During roughly 10 years’ follow-up, 9% of participants died.
Among those with the same amount of total physical activity, a higher proportion of vigorous activity was associated with lower all-cause mortality. For example, the age-standardized mortality rate for those with no vigorous activity was 96 per 10,000 participants — but for those in whom vigorous activity accounted for 50%–75% of their total activity, the mortality rate was 65 per 10,000.
Overall, adults who got 150–299 minutes per week of moderate activity and at least 150 minutes per week of vigorous activity had the lowest mortality risk.
The researchers encourage clinicians to discuss with patients the potential benefits of vigorous activity.