150 Minutes Minimum Cardio Weekly?
The Challenging Reality of Adoption & Maintenance
Many of us aren’t getting in the weekly minimum dosage of prescribed/recommended physical activity-exercise. And for some within this category, the realities of life, and it’s perceivable never-accomodating nature, make it extremely hard to realize:
*Long school/work hours & week.
*The never-ending tussle between priorities such as family obligations/social elevation & ‘me time.
*Health challenges.
…
For these reasons & others, the recommendation of 150 minutes of minimum cardio weekly is just that, a recommendation.
Obesity & CNCDs still not Trending Down in the United States, Caribbean & Latin America
With all of the gyms, fitness & dietary professionals & similar influencers on social media, Obesity & Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (CNCDs) is still not trending down.
As per the National Library of Medicine journal article: Update on the Obesity Epidemic: After the Sudden Rise, Is the Upward Trajectory Beginning to Flatten?
“…There is a steady uninterrupted rise in low-income nations, and the universal trend is obesity escalation rather than slowdown, mainly driven by sharp increases in the obesity prevalence of low-income populations.
Furthermore, an increasing number of high- and middle-income countries are currently experiencing an epidemic of severe obesity. In high-income populations, severe obesity is expected to double its prevalence from 10 to 20% between 2020 and 2035, posing an enormous threat for healthcare systems.” Koliaki, Dalamaga, Liatis, (2023) |Retrieved September 14, 2024.
Similar sentiments are expressed by the CDC. As per the CDC Website:
“The prevalence of obesity (USA) increased from 30.5% in 1999-2000 to 41.9% in 2017–March 2020. During the same time, the prevalence of severe obesity increased from 4.7% to 9.2%.”
150 Minutes Minimum of Moderate Cardio Role in Reducing the Obesity Epidemic & Improving Your Health
The American Heart Association website states:
“Science has linked being inactive and sitting too much with higher risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, colon and lung cancers, and early death.”
(Retrieved September 14, 2024).
It’s important to note that the risk of diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers, increase with obesity. So if being active as per the minimum weekly physical activity recommendations is a practical medicine, then our sustainable consumption of same is extremely critical.
In my opinion however, a significant number of the global population is aware of this. However, adoption is not equally reflected for reasons mentioned earlier within this article, as well as for cultural reasons to say the least. The tips below are for those of us with a desire of making the adoption of the weekly minimum of physical activity-exercise, a daily practice.
Bite-Size Tips to Increase Your Weekly Physical Activity-Exercise Minutes
Aim to commit a minimum of 10 minutes of active, physical activity-exercise (moderate-vigorous heart rate) for a minimum of 5 days weekly.
Even though you are only amassing 50 minutes of physical activity-exercise weekly, if your intensity is high, then you’re only 25 minutes less than the minimum 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity-exercise weekly. And even if your intensity is moderate, this is a starting foundation, whereby you will feel the urge to increase your minutes over time. Moderate heart rate can be 120bpm-144bpm. Vigorous heart rate can be considered as 145bpm and above.
Establish Your Why: Why is It Important for You Be/Keep Physically Active
Your “why” is your motivation.
Without it you more than likely won’t act towards attaining & maintaining the 150 minimum minutes of moderate physical activity-exercise. And you more than likely won’t maintain this behavior for the long term. Having the support of others in the form of friends & family, can help you further stay the course.
Do Physical Activity/Exercise You Enjoy or Surround Your Daily Routine
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Like the tip above, doing the physical activity-exercise you enjoy, won’t feel like a chore. Similarly, by engaging in physical activity-exercise that surround your daily routine, you can spend less time & effort trying to engage in physical outside the realms of your daily routine.
So, if you normally take the elevator at work, and have access to stairs, climbing/descending the stairs at work is a way of increasing your daily physical activity minutes. Similarly, if you enjoy dancing, then having social arrangements and/or engaging in events that enable you to ‘let your hair down’, can surely help towards you increasing your weekly physical activity minutes.
Closing Remarks
Attaining & maintaining the weekly minimum of 150 minutes of moderate cardio, or 75 minimum weekly minutes of vigorous cardio, is a widely accepted lifestyle solution to the global obesity epidemic. Having said this, the global obesity population numbers continue to rise. And the adoption of the weekly physical activity recommendations remain relatively (country population scale) low.
To sustainably address this issue, requires an appreciation of the unique challenges (individual, community, regional..) we face; in addition to infusing motivational cues that are relevant and adoptable, specific to our daily routines, and/or what we enjoy.
About The Author
Oshane Bryant: BSc Geology, Geography Minor; ACE CPT since 2012; Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) Accelerator Graduate-2018 cohort; Licensed KUKIBO Martial Arts & Self Defense, Senior Instructor; CSA Certified Executive Protection; OB Fitness Founder & Managing Director.
