Low physical activity can improve fitness levels for sedentary, overweight postmenopa...( s of exercising per week were 72.2 for ...),Health

s of exercising per week were 72.2 for the 4-kcal/kg, 135.8 for the 8-kcal/kg, and 191.7 for the 12-kcal/kg per week exercise groups. Compared with the control group, the VO2abs (absolute) increased by 4.2 percent in the 4-kcal/kg, 6.0 percent in the 8-kcal/kg, and 8.2 percent in the 12-kcal/kg per week groups. There were no significant changes in systolic or diastolic blood pressure values from baseline to 6 months in any of the exercise groups vs. the control group.

"Perhaps the most striking finding of our study is that even activity at the 4-kcal/kg per week level [approximately 72 min/wk over about three days] was associated with a significant improvement in fitness compared with women in the nonexercise control group," the authors write. "This information can be used to support future recommendations and should be encouraging to sedentary adults who find it difficult to find the time for 150 minutes of activity per week, let alone 60 minutes per day."

(JAMA. 2007;297:2081-2091. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org)

Editors Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.

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Editorial: Dose-Response Relation Between Physical Activity and Fitness - Even a Little Is Good; More Is Better

In an accompanying editorial, I-Min Lee, M.B.B.S., Sc.D., of the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, comments on the study concerning physical activity levels and fitness.

"Although the trial by Church et al shows a linear dose-response relation between physical activity and improvements in physical fitness, with benefit observed beginning at 72 minutes a week of moderate activity, it is limited in its ability to provide direct answers for other patterns of physical activity.
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Contact: Glen Duncan
225-763-2599
JAMA and Archives Journals
15-May-2007

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