Study Assesses Interventions for Reducing Cardiometabolic Risk
LEEDS, England — Interventions aimed at reducing healthy adults’ risk of developing diabetes can focus on increasing both the intensity and amount of physical activity. However, in those with chronic disease, increasing the amount of activity undertaken, regardless of intensity, may be more appropriate, a new report from researchers at Leeds Trinity University suggests.
Their findings appear in the September issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
To reach their conclusions the researchers used accelerometers to capture the distribution of activity intensity in two populations: one consisting of 400 healthy individuals — office workers with no self-reported medical conditions — and the other with 1,100 people suffering from one or more chronic diseases.
In the latter group, only the amount of activity — for instance, at least 60 minutes of slow walking — was associated with lower cardiometabolic risk, supporting “every minute counts” messaging, the researchers said.
However, for the healthy group, both intensity and volume were important, with lower risk in those whose activity profile included at least 10 minutes of brisk walking.
