Service members should participate in moderate activity what minimum amount of time per week

Índice Show

Benefits of regular physical activity
A healthier state of mind
Aim for at least 30 minutes a day
Physical activity guidelines
Ways to increase physical activity
See your doctor first
Where to get help

Aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day.
See everyday activities as a good opportunity to be active.
Try to find the time for some regular, vigorous exercise for extra health and fitness benefits.
Minimise the amount of time spent in prolonged sitting and break up long periods of sitting as often as possible.

Physical activity or exercise can improve your health and reduce the risk of developing several diseases like type 2 diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease. Physical activity and exercise can have immediate and long-term health benefits. Most importantly, regular activity can improve your quality of life.

A minimum of 30 minutes a day can allow you to enjoy these benefits.

Benefits of regular physical activity

If you are regularly physically active, you may:

A healthier state of mind

A number of studies have found that exercise helps depression. There are many views as to how exercise helps people with depression:

Exercise may block negative thoughts or distract you from daily worries.
Exercising with others provides an opportunity for increased social contact.
Increased fitness may lift your mood and improve your sleep patterns.
Exercise may also change levels of chemicals in your brain, such as serotonin, endorphins and stress hormones.

Aim for at least 30 minutes a day

To maintain health and reduce your risk of health problems, health professionals and researchers recommend a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, preferably all, days.

Physical activity guidelines

Australia’s physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines state that:

Doing any physical activity is better than doing none. If you currently do no physical activity, start by doing some, and gradually build up to the recommended amount.
Be active on most, preferably all, days every week.
Accumulate 150 to 300 minutes (2 ½ to 5 hours) of moderate intensity physical activity or 75 to 150 minutes (1 ¼ to 2 ½ hours) of vigorous intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both moderate and vigorous activities, each week.
Do muscle strengthening activities on at least two days each week.

Ways to increase physical activity

Increases in daily activity can come from small changes made throughout your day, such as walking or cycling instead of using the car, getting off a tram, train or bus a stop earlier and walking the rest of the way, or walking the children to school.

See your doctor first

It is a good idea to see your doctor before starting your physical activity program if:

you are aged over 45 years
physical activity causes pain in your chest
you often faint or have spells of severe dizziness
moderate physical activity makes you very breathless
you are at a higher risk of heart disease
you think you might have heart disease or you have heart problems
you are pregnant.

Pre-exercise screening is used to identify people with medical conditions that may put them at a higher risk of experiencing a health problem during physical activity. It is a filter or ‘safety net’ to help decide if the potential benefits of exercise outweigh the risks for you.

Print a copy of the adult pre-exercise screening tool (PDF) and discuss it with your doctor, allied health or exercise professional.

Where to get help

Content on this website is provided for information purposes only. Information about a therapy, service, product or treatment does not in any way endorse or support such therapy, service, product or treatment and is not intended to replace advice from your doctor or other registered health professional. The information and materials contained on this website are not intended to constitute a comprehensive guide concerning all aspects of the therapy, product or treatment described on the website. All users are urged to always seek advice from a registered health care professional for diagnosis and answers to their medical questions and to ascertain whether the particular therapy, service, product or treatment described on the website is suitable in their circumstances. The State of Victoria and the Department of Health shall not bear any liability for reliance by any user on the materials contained on this website.

1. WHO. Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. 2004. www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/strategy/eb11344/strategy_english_web.pdf. Accessed 1 February 2011.

2. WHO. A Guide for Population-based Approaches to Increasing Levels of Physical Activity. Implementation of the WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. 2007. http://www.who.int/entity/dietphysicalactivity/PA-promotionguide.pdf/. Accessed 20 January 2011.

3. WHO. Interventions on diet and physical activity: what works: summary report. Geneva, World Health Organisation. 2009. http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/summary-report-09.pdf. Accessed 30 January 2011.

4. Oja P, Bull F, Fogelholm M, Martin WM. Physical activity recommendations for health: what should Europe do? BMC Public Health. 2010;10:10. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-10-10. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]

5. Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee. Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Report, 2008.Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2008. http://www.health.gov/paguidelines. Accessed 9 February 2011.

6. Pate RR, Pratt M, Blair SN, Haskell WL, Macera CA, Bouchard C, Buchner D, Ettinger W, Heath GW, King AC, Kriska A, Leon AS, Marcus BH, Morris J, Paffenbarger RS, Patrick K, Pollock ML, Rippe JM, Sallis J, Wilmore JH. Physical activity and public health. a recommendation from the centres for disease control and prevention and the American College Of Sports Medicine. JAMA. 1995;273:402–407. doi: 10.1001/jama.273.5.402. [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]

7. Haskell WL, Lee I-M, Pate RR, Powell KE, Blair SN, Franklin BA, Macera CA, Heath GW, Thompson PD, Bauman A. Physical activity and public health. Updated recommendations for adults from the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2007;116:1081–1093. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.185649. [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]

8. Nelson ME, Rejeski WJ, Blair SN, Duncan PW, Judge JO, King AB, Macera CA, Castaneda-Sceppa C. Physical activity and public health in older adults. Recommendation from the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2007;116:1094–1105. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.185650. [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]

9. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2008. http://www.health.gov/paguidelines. Accessed 28 January 2011.

10. WHO. Global recommendations on physical activity for health. 2010. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2010/9789241599979_eng.pdf. Accessed 30 January 2011.

11. Troiano RP, Haskell WL. The role of physical activity guidelines in preventing physical inactivity. In: Brown WJ, Havas E, Komi PV (Eds.), Promoting Sport for All. Benefits and strategies for the 21st century. Proceedings, plenary sessions.XIII World Sport for All Congress, 14–17 June, 2010, Jyväskylä, Finland. LIKES Research Reports on Sport and Health 235. 2010. pp. 33–39.

12. National Physical Activity Plan. National Plan for Physical Activity. 2010. http//www.physicalactivityplan.org. Accessed 31 March 2011.

13. Fogelholm M, Suni J, Rinne M, Oja P, Vuori I. Physical activity pie: a graphical presentation integrating recommendations for fitness and health. J Phys Act Health. 2005;2:391–396. [Google Scholar]

14. Titze S, Ring-Dimitriou S, Schober PH., Halbwachs C, Samitz G, Miko HC, Lercher P, Stein KV, Gäbler C, Bauer R, Gollner E, Windhaber J, Bachl N, Dorner TE & Arbeitsgruppe KörperlicheAktivität/Bewegung/Sport der Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Public Health. Bundesministerium für Gesundheit, Gesundheit Österreich GmbH, Geschäftsbereich Fonds Gesundes Österreich (Hrsg.). Österreichische Empfehlungen für gesundheitswirksame Bewegung. Wien: Eigenverlag. 2010. http://www.fgoe.org/presse-publikationen/downloads/forschung/bewegungsempfehlungen/2010-04-28.1864800615. Accessed 24 February 2011.

15. WHO Europe. Steps to health. A European framework to promote physical activity for health.Copenhagen, WHO Regional Office for Europe. 2007. http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/101684/E90191.pdf. Accessed 30 January 2011.

16. Daugbjerg SB, Kahlmeier S, Racioppi F, Martin-Diener E, Martin B, Oja P, Bull F. Promotion of physical activity in the European region: Content analysis of 27 national policy documents. J Phys Act Health. 2009;6:805–817. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

17. Cavill N, Foster C, Oja P, Martin BW. An evidence-based approach to physical activity promotion and policy development in Europe: contrasting case studies. IUHPE—Promotion & Education. 2006;13:20–27. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Page 2

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ recommendations [9]

Target group	Recommendation	Note
Children and adolescents (aged 6–17)	Children and adolescents should do 60 min (1 h) or more of physical activity daily.	It is important to encourage young people to participate in physical activities that are appropriate for their age, that are enjoyable, and that offer variety.
Aerobic: Most of the 60 or more minutes a day should be either moderate- or vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, and should include vigorous-intensity physical activity at least 3 days a week.
Muscle-strengthening: As part of their 60 or more minutes of daily physical activity, children and adolescents should include muscle-strengthening physical activity on at least 3 days of the week.
Bone-strengthening: As part of their 60 or more minutes of daily physical activity, children and adolescents should include bone-strengthening physical activity on at least 3 days of the week.
Adults (aged 18–64)	Adults should do at least 150 min (2 h and 30 min) a week of moderate-intensity, or 75 min (1 h and 15 min) a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity. Aerobic activity should be performed in episodes of at least 10 min, and preferably, it should be spread throughout the week.	All adults should avoid inactivity. Some physical activity is better than none, and adults who participate in any amount of physical activity gain some health benefits.
For additional and more extensive health benefits, adults should increase their aerobic physical activity to 300 min (5 h) a week of moderate-intensity, or 150 min a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity. Additional health benefits are gained by engaging in physical activity beyond this amount.
Adults should also do muscle-strengthening activities that are moderate or high intensity and involve all major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week, as these activities provide additional health benefits.
Older adults (aged 65 and older)	The guidelines for older adults are the same as for adults regarding aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities.	When older adults cannot do 150 min of moderate-intensity aerobic activity a week because of chronic conditions, they should be as physically active as their abilities and conditions allow.
In addition older adults should do exercises that maintain or improve balance if they are at risk of falling.	All older adults should avoid inactivity. Some physical activity is better than none, and older adults who participate in any amount of physical activity gain some health benefits.
Women during pregnancy and the postpartum period	Healthy women who are not already highly active or doing vigorous-intensity activity should get at least 150 min (2 h and 30 min) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Preferably, this activity should be spread throughout the week.
Pregnant women who habitually engage in vigorous-intensity aerobic activity or are highly active can continue physical activity during pregnancy and the postpartum period, provided that they remain healthy and discuss with their health-care provider how and when activity should be adjusted over time.
Adults with disabilities	Adults with disabilities, who are able to, should get at least 150 min per week (2 h and 30 min) of moderate-intensity, or 75 min (1 h and 15 min) per week of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity. Aerobic activity should be performed in episodes of at least 10 min, and preferably, it should be spread throughout the week.	When adults with disabilities are not able to meet the guidelines, they should engage in regular physical activity according to their abilities and should avoid inactivity.
They should also do muscle-strengthening activities of moderate or high intensity that involve all major muscle groups on 2 or more days per week as these activities provide additional health benefits.	Adults with disabilities should consult their health-care providers about the amounts and types of physical activity that are appropriate for their abilities.