For more than a decade we've been told we need to be physically active for 30 minutes a day, but new exercise guidelines suggest we do double that.
If you are one of the 50 per cent of Australians who manage to fit in the 30 minutes of exercise every day, well done. But you are probably going to be a little disappointed to know you should now aim for 60 minutes.
Australia's new physical activity guidelines have been released, and they are a world first in recommending we do up to 300 minutes of exercise every week.
This amount is not only double the 150 minutes previously advised in the Australian guidelines, which were released in 1999, it's also double the amount recommended in international exercise guidelines.
We're also being encouraged to avoid prolonged periods of sitting and to do muscle strengthening activities at least two days a week.
Lead author Professor Wendy Brown says we need to aim for a "stretched target" or a range of 150 to 300 minutes of moderate intensity exercise, which is exercise at a level that takes some effort, but at which you are still able to talk.
"If you're currently meeting the previous guideline of 150 minutes per week, you should be looking at increasing that up to 300 minutes per week," Brown says.
"If you're not currently meeting the recommended 150 minutes, then it's important to take note of the new guidelines and try and gradually increasing your activity levels."
Growing waistlines
The old guidelines said we needed to 'put together at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity on most, preferably all, days'. We were told to do this as evidence shows switching from doing nothing to 30 minutes a day can cut the risk of heart disease by up to 40 per cent.
"It was almost as if we were saying 'try to get to 150, but if you can't... don't worry about it'," said Brown, from the School of Human Movement Studies at The University of Queensland and board member of Sports Medicine Australia.
"This is a way of saying 'well get to 150 minutes but try and do a bit more'. It's a bit of a wake up call about how little we do. It's trying to change people's perceptions to say 'you have to take this seriously'."
With Australian adults gaining weight at an average rate of about half a kilogram a year, Brown says, our growing waistlines call for more drastic advice.
She admits 300 minutes a week is not a cure for obesity, but that it is a target designed to prevent many of us from gaining weight. And it's a move international exercise and public health experts are applauding.
"Around the world there has been amazing interest. Researchers and leading scientists are saying 'that's fantastic, it's about time somebody bit the bullet'. I thought at the time we are putting our heads on the block a bit here but it needs to be done."
"If you prevent weight gain, you prevent diabetes, cardiovascular disease and several cancers as well."
Short on time? Go harder
The previous guidelines emphasised moderate intensity exercise, adding in some extra vigorous exercise if you chose to. The new approach is more flexible – pointing out that you can do either moderate or vigorous exercise. (Vigorous exercise is described as requiring more effort and making you 'huff and puff'.)
And if you're short on time, choosing vigorous exercise means you can roughly halve the time you need to invest. So you could choose to do 75 to 150 minutes a week of more vigorous exercise, or an equivalent combination of both.
"Most people actually do a combination," Brown said.
But whatever you do, it needs to be regular – daily or every second day if you can – as you won't get the same benefit if you try to achieve your entire target on one or two days of the week.
In Brown's view, the fact that only 50 per cent of the population is meeting the previous guidelines should not detract from the importance of the message – especially given there's evidence around half of those who met the old guidelines were actually active for 300 minutes a week.
"We all make choices about how we spend our time. It's a question of prioritising what's important."
"It is achievable. It's not as though no-one's doing this."
Other recommendations
We're also being told to break up long periods of sitting as often as possible because of evidence linking too much sitting to the risk of type 2 diabetes and other poor health outcomes. This message is relevant for all of us, even those who do enough physical activity.
Aiming for two sessions of muscle strengthening activities is also being encouraged, as this is known to help prevent diabetes, improve weight maintenance and improve physical functioning as you age.
The research is not clear on the duration needed but a good goal was two 20 minute sessions a week, which could be part of the total weekly exercise you clocked up, Brown said. It need not involve weights or machines or visiting a gym. You could try household tasks that involved lifting carrying or digging, or do body weight exercises like pushups, squats or lunges.
For the first time, the new separate guidelines for children and teenagers also recommend limiting time spent using electronic media for entertainment.
Published 12/02/2014
