Géraldine Zamansky, journalist for the Magazine de la Santé on France 5 comforts us today with a scientific discovery that could make weekend athletes feel guilty, who are called “warriors” because of their intense practice.
franceinfo: Scientists have really shown that what matters is not the number of times you put on shorts in the week but the duration and intensity of the activity performed?
Exactly. And to demonstrate it this international team followed 350,978 Americans for an average of 10 years. They compared their mortality according to their physical activity. with three groups.
First of all those who do not reach the bar of 150 minutes of moderate effort each week, or 75 minutes of intense effort, that is to say the recommendations of the WHO, the World Health Organization Health. Then those who pass this milestone in at least three sessions. And finally those who move only once or twice, nicknamed in the study the “weekend warriors”. Result: as you can imagine, mortality is on average 10% higher in the group outside the recommendations.
But the novelty is that unlike previous research, this study shows that there is very little difference between “warriors” and the others! Giving it your all during a football training session of at least 1h15 on Sunday has almost the same effect on life expectancy as three 25-minute jogs a week.
Great news for anyone who is short on time before or after work. But how do you know if you move moderately or intensely?
If you can talk at the same time, it’s more of a moderate physical activity, and the recommended dose is two and a half hours a week. If that’s not possible, half is enough. And I said “physical activity”, not “sport”. You don’t just work your heart and muscles on a stadium, a tennis court or by running 10 km. Mowing the lawn with a fairly heavy machine can be very intense! Walking fast or just walking, of course, is excellent.
Another Canadian study has just shown that the best way to regain strength after a heart attack is Nordic walking, with sticks. As it moves the arms, up to 90% of the muscles are mobilized. In addition, the sticks limit the risk of falling. It is therefore accessible to almost all ages.
In short, the idea is that everyone can find an activity they like without necessarily enrolling in a sports club. And if you discover it this summer, you have understood it, it will already be very beneficial to keep the habit, every weekend!
>>>The study by the international team of researchers
And always the site Eat Move
–
