Putting the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines Into Practice to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease
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Putting the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines Into Practice to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease I-Min Lee
Published online: 28 April 2010 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010
Abstract In 2008, the federal government of the United States issued its first-ever physical activity guidelines for Americans. These guidelines were based on a large body of scientific evidence, including evidence showing that physical activity can reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The guidelines encourage any amount of physical activity, and ideally encourage 150 min/wk of moderateintensity aerobic activity or 75 min/wk of vigorous-intensity physical activity, or the equivalent in moderate plus vigorous activities. Physical activity can be accumulated in bouts of at least 10 min in duration to count toward the total. Amounts of physical activity exceeding the target are associated with additional risk reductions in cardiovascular disease. Although there are risks associated with physical activity, primarily musculoskeletal injuries, the benefits of physical activity clearly outweigh the risks. To minimize these risks, a “start low and go slow” approach is recommended. Physical activity is indeed a “best buy” for public health. Keywords Cardiovascular diseases . Coronary disease . Exercise . Guidelines . Physical activity Introduction Physical activity has been called a “best buy” for public health [1] because of the high prevalence of physical inactivity in
I.-M. Lee (*) Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 900 Commonwealth Avenue East, Boston, MA 02215, USA e-mail: [email protected] I.-M. Lee Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Hungtington Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA
the United States [2•] (there are many more inactive persons in the United States than smokers [3], for example) and because the increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of death, associated with being inactive is as large as those observed for other major risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, or dyslipidemia [4]. Epidemiologic studies documenting higher rates of CVD among inactive individuals, compared with active individuals, have been conducted for more than six decades now, and this large body of data has led to physical activity recommendations from many respected organizations over the years. These include recommendations from the American Heart Association (AHA) in 1992 [5], the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) in 1995 [6], the Surgeon General’s report on physical activity and health in 1996 [7], and the ACSM and AHA in 2007 [8, 9]. In 2008, the United States federal government issued its first-ever physical activity guidelines for Americans [10••] based on a comprehensive and systematic review of studies published since the 1996 Surgeon General’s report on physical activity and health [7]. The purpose of this review is to discuss the 2008 guidelines with regard to CVD prevention, and to understand
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