Study: Exercise an hour a day to ward off heart issues

Triathletes who workout an hour a day are apparently doing the minimum amount of exercise needed to stay healthy says a new study.

Previously, the general consensus was that 30 minutes of activity per day is enough. For those who did their due diligence by heading out for half hour runs, rides or swims every day, the time commitment is going to have to at least double to ward off heart problems.

Published in the journal Circulation, the study considered the habits of 370,460 men and women from 12 different studies. All of their fitness habits were self reported. When the researchers followed up 15 years later, they found that those who worked out for 30 minutes each day had a modest reduction in heart failure risk compared to those who reported being sedentary.

Those who reported working out two to four times as much as their peers though saw significant reductions in heart problems– 20 to 35 per cent to be exact. These results held true regardless of age, race or gender.

The study’s lead author, Jarett D. Berry, a professor at University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, has therefore concluded that we need to be more generous when giving minimum daily exercise recommendations.