Five minutes of exercise not enough, professor says

Five minutes of exercise a day not enough, public health professor argues

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A public health professor has challenged recent media reports suggesting that five minutes of daily exercise is sufficient for health, arguing the claim is based on a misinterpretation of a modeling study. Writing in The Guardian, Prof Devi Sridhar of the University of Edinburgh analyzed a Lancet study that used existing data from roughly 135,000 participants across the US, Norway, Sweden and the UK. The study modeled the effect of a five-minute increase in moderate activity and estimated a 6%-10% reduction in deaths among participants in the multi-country studies, with a smaller effect in UK Biobank data. Sridhar noted the study did not test sedentary individuals doing five minutes of exercise daily, but instead modeled relationships from existing data. She emphasized that the World Health Organization recommends 20-40 minutes of moderate activity per day based on extensive evidence, and argued that the body needs a combination of cardio, strength and flexibility training, which takes time. The professor concluded that while something is better than nothing, five minutes is not enough to stay healthy into old age.

What’s reported

Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh.

She wrote a commentary in The Guardian about 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 the proportion of deaths averted by a five-minute increase in moderate activity, estimating a 6%-10% reduction in deaths among participants in the multi-country studies, with a smaller effect in the Biobank data.

Sridhar stated the study did not look at sedentary individuals and ask them to do five minutes of exercise daily; it used existing data to model the relationship between activity and death.

The World Health Organization recommends 20-40 minutes of moderate activity per day (150-300 minutes per week) based on systematic reviews, meta-analysis and prospective cohort studies.

Sridhar argued the body needs cardio, strength and flexibility training, each of which takes time.