2026-05-20 13:04:08
Exercising for more than nine hours a week could deliver the greatest protection against heart disease.
Scientists say clocking up between 560 and 610 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise a week, roughly four times the current minimum recommendation, may offer “optimal” heart benefits.
The study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, analysed data from more than 17,000 middle-aged adults enrolled in the UK Biobank project.
Researchers from Macao Polytechnic University in China measured participants’ cardiorespiratory fitness using VO2 max testing, which tracks how efficiently the body absorbs and uses oxygen during exercise.
During the study period, there were 1,233 cardiovascular events, including heart attacks, strokes, heart failure and irregular heart rhythms.
The findings showed that meeting the current target of 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise per week cut heart risks by between eight and nine per cent.
But people who exercised for significantly longer saw even greater gains.
Researchers found those taking part in 560 to 610 minutes of activity weekly reduced their risk of heart events by 30 per cent or more.
They also suggested people with lower fitness levels may need to work harder to achieve the same protection as highly active individuals.
The authors wrote: “Current moderate-to-vigorous physical activity guidelines provide a universal but modest safety margin, whereas optimal cardiovascular protection may require substantially higher activity volumes.
“Future guidelines and implementation strategies may need to differentiate between the minimal moderate-to-vigorous physical activity volume required for a basic safety margin and the substantially higher volumes necessary for optimal cardiovascular risk reduction.”
Not everyone is convinced.
Aiden Doherty, professor of biomedical informatics at the University of Oxford, warned against treating the findings as a new target.
He is quoted by The Independent as saying: “We can’t give much weight to the figure of 560-610 minutes of exercise a week.
“Clearly there will be cardiovascular benefit for people who are able to do (more than) 1 hour 20 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity per day but this is not a sensible public health message.
“The public should continue to aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity of physical activity per week; more is better; every move counts.”
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