Moderate-vigorous physical activity most effective for improving fitness: Study

As per the recent study, the researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) are trying to acknowledge the connection between habitual physical activity and physical fitness, where the researchers have discovered that spending more time in exercising like moderate-vigorous physical activity and low-medium levels exercise such as walking and less time spent sedentary is transcribed to higher physical fitness. These results were published in the European Heart Journal, which is available on the online platform. 

The author Matthew Nayor, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine at BUSM, stated in the research stated, "By establishing the relationship between different forms of habitual physical activity and detailed fitness measures, we hope that our study will provide important information that can ultimately be used to improve physical fitness and overall health across the life course." 

How the research has been conducted 

He and his colleagues have examined the data from almost 2,000 people who took part in the community-based Framingham Heart Study and completed thorough cardiopulmonary exercise tests (CPET), which is due to the "gold standard" of physical fitness and strength testing. 

The measurements of the physical fitness were linked to physical activity information recorded from accelerometers which is basically an instrument that monitors the regularity and intensity of the individual's movement. the participants have worn that instrument for around a week of time for the CPET and eight years prior. 

The outcome of the research 

As per the research, they discovered that devoted exercise such as those who has done Moderate-vigorous physical activity was the most effective way to improve fitness. In the research result, it is shown that doing exercise was seen to be three times more effective than walking individually and on the other hand, it is 14 times more effective than minimising inactive period. 

Furthermore, they observed from the research that increases the amount of time invested in moderate to rigorous exercising and increasing the number of steps taken each day might somewhat counterbalance the detrimental impact of sedentary behaviour on physical conditioning. 

Although the research concentrated on the association between physical activity and fitness instead of any health-related consequences, the researchers claim that physical fitness has a significant impact on human health and is linked to a decreased risk of heart diseases (heart attack), diabetes, cancer, and premature mortality. 

According to the cardiologist at Boston Medical Center, Matthew Nayor further said for a better understanding of strategies to enhance fitness would be considered to have huge consequences for health improvement. 

(Image Credit: PTI)