Over 40? Exercising for 20 minutes A Day Can Keep the Hospital Away

A major new study reveals that if you’re over 40, exercising for 20 minutes a day may help you stay healthy as well as keep you out of the hospital.

Researchers discovered that among roughly 82,000 British people, those who were into exercising for 20 minutes every day were less likely to be admitted to the hospital in the upcoming years for a variety of medical illnesses. On the list were conditions including pneumonia, stroke, complications from diabetes, and severe UTIs.

According to the research, if middle-aged and older persons indulged in exercising for 20 minutes a day, they might reduce their chance of hospitalization by anywhere between 4% and 23% over the course of seven years.

As per the experts, the study goes beyond what people normally associate with exercise, such as a leaner body, increased fitness, and a healthier heart.

“It could also help keep you out of the hospital. And that matters to people,” said Peter Katzmarzyk, a professor at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La.

The study, according to Katzmarzyk, who was not engaged in it, is consistent with the general advice given to People to better their health: Obtain 75 minutes of strenuous activity or 150 minutes of moderate “cardio” exercise every week. It entails physical activity that raises a sweat and gets the heart rate up: Exercises of a moderate intensity include brisk walking, biking on flat terrain, and yard work. Running, mountain riding, and lap swimming all qualify as strong-intensity exercises.

The results, which were released on February 16 in JAMA Network Open, were based on information from the UK Biobank, a sizable ongoing research effort.

Almost 48,000 trial participants did wind up in the hospital after about seven years, for a variety of reasons. Yet, those who were more physically active had lower odds for nine of these diseases.

The major nine were colon polyps, diverticular disease, blood clots, stroke, complications from diabetes, pneumonia, iron deficiency anemia, gallbladder disease, and UTIs (where small “pouches” form in the wall of the colon).

According to lead researcher Eleanor Watts of the U.S. National Cancer Institute in Rockville, Maryland, the data do not demonstrate that physical activity in and of itself was to blame.

One possibility is that younger, healthier, wealthier, or those with better health may be more likely to exercise and avoid hospitalization.

But, Watts said, when her team factored in those differences, physical activity was still linked to a protective effect.

Plus, she noted, it’s known that exercise has plenty of benefits that could help prevent those hospitalizations.

“Studies show that physical activity can improve immune function, lung and heart health, insulin sensitivity and reduce inflammation,” Watts said. “Physical activity also can reduce body fat, high blood pressure, and cholesterol.”

Only an additional 20 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous cardio every day, according to the researchers, will reduce the likelihood of being admitted to the hospital for any of the nine conditions the study detected. This included a 4% decrease in the likelihood of being admitted to the hospital for colon polyps to a 23% decrease in the likelihood of being admitted because of diabetes. The medical director of cardiac prevention and rehabilitation at the John Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute in New Orleans is Dr. Chip Lavie.

“Moderate-to-vigorous” is a rather large range, and Lavie suggested that daily jogging might have more advantages than dog walking. Also, the level of activity required depends on the end result: He said that the more calories you cut, the more weight you’ll lose.

But the main message, Lavie said, is that “almost any physical activity is better than inactivity.”

That’s good news, the experts said, for people of all ages and fitness levels: You do not have to start a running routine to improve your health.

And even if you’ve been sedentary for years, Watts said, it’s never “too late” to get moving.

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