Five minutes of daily exercise not enough for fitness, professor argues
8 reported
A public health professor has challenged recent media reports suggesting that five minutes of exercise per day is sufficient for health, calling the idea too good to be true. Writing in The Guardian, Prof Devi Sridhar of the University of Edinburgh analyzed a Lancet study that modeled a 6%-10% reduction in deaths from a five-minute increase in moderate activity. She noted the study used existing data rather than testing sedentary individuals, and argued it reinforces that something is better than nothing but should not form the basis of a workout routine. Sridhar emphasized that the body needs cardio, strength, and flexibility exercises, which take time, and pointed to World Health Organization recommendations of 20-40 minutes of moderate activity daily. She concluded that five minutes is not enough to stay healthy and fit into old age.
What’s reported
The article is an opinion piece by Prof Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh.
Sridhar criticizes recent stories based on a Lancet study claiming five minutes of exercise a day is sufficient.
The Lancet study used individual data from seven large studies in the US, Norway, and Sweden with roughly 40,000 participants, plus UK Biobank data with 95,000 participants.
The study modeled a 6%-10% reduction in deaths among participants in the multicounty studies from a five-minute increase in moderate activity, with a smaller effect in the Biobank data.
Sridhar states the study did not look at sedentary individuals asked to do five minutes daily; it used existing data to model the relationship.
She argues the body needs three types of movement: cardio, strength, and flexibility.
The World Health Organization recommends 20-40 minutes of moderate activity daily (150-300 minutes weekly) based on extensive evidence.
Sridhar says five minutes is not enough to stay healthy and fully fit into old age.
Key figures
Prof Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh
Sources: The Guardian
