Your support helps us tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to big tech, The Independent is on the ground as the story unfolds. Whether it’s investigating the finances of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump political action committee or producing our latest documentary The Word, which highlights American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to analyze the facts from the reporter.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to continue sending journalists to talk to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the political spectrum. Unlike many other high-quality news outlets, we choose not to exclude Americans from our reporting and analysis through a paywall. We believe that quality journalism should be available to everyone, and paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes a difference.
A new review of studies has found that two and a half hours of physical exercise per week may be necessary to achieve any significant reduction in body weight.
The review was published in the journal The JAMA Network is open On Thursday, researchers analyzed previously conducted clinical trials examining the effect of exercise on weight loss.
It found that exercising for about 30 minutes per week was associated with only modest reductions in body weight, body fat measurements, and waist circumference among adults with obesity.
However, exercise greater than 150 minutes per week, at moderate or greater intensity, was more likely to achieve clinically significant reductions in weight loss parameters.
Aerobic exercise is any type of physical activity that raises a person’s heart rate and makes them move and sweat for an extended period of time.
Previous studies have shown that this type of cardio provides a range of benefits when combined with a healthy diet, enabling people to think more clearly, and even protecting against cognitive decline as they age.
Some previous studies estimated the optimal minimum exercise period to be between 30 and 45 minutes.
At least 30 minutes of exercise has been linked to significantly better performance on cognitive tests.
One study showed that about 30 minutes of walking on a treadmill for 10 consecutive days may significantly reduce depression.
But the exact amount of optimal exercise needed for weight loss was not clear.
Health guidelines suggest that at least 150 minutes of exercise per week at moderate intensity is key to achieving a significant weight loss of about 2 to 3 kg. Some studies indicate that it is necessary to engage in moderate-intensity physical activity ranging from 225 to 420 minutes per week to lose weight from 5 to 7.5 kg.
The new study evaluated data from more than 100 clinical trials examining the effect of exercise over at least eight weeks in overweight or obese adults.
Researchers found that 30 minutes of exercise per week may enable overweight or obese adults to “reduce” their body weight slightly.
However, they found a “greater and more clinically significant” improvement from exercising more than 150 minutes per week.
“At least 150 minutes of aerobic training per week may be needed to achieve significant reductions in waist circumference and body fat,” they said in the review.
“Longer periods of exercise may be associated with more beneficial outcomes in weight or waist circumference.”