Hi. I am David Brown, from the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). I am pleased to speak with you today, as part of the CDC Expert Commentary Series on Medscape, and I am here to talk to you about the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Older Adults.
The guidelines say that older adults need to do 2 types of physical activity each week to improve health: aerobic andmuscle-strengthening.
For aerobic physical activity, the guidelines recommend that adults 65 years and older do:
• 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity per week; or
• 1 hour and 15 minutes of vigorous intensity aerobic physical activity; or
• An equivalent combination of moderate and vigorous intensity physical activity weekly.
There are even greater health benefits from doing more than 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity every week. Activities should last at least 10 minutes at a time. Doing 10-minute sessions of physical activity 3 times a day counts as much as doing a single 30-minute session.
The guidelines also recommend:
• Muscle strengthening on 2 or more days a week, preferably not on consecutive days, for all major muscle groups; and
• Balance exercises at least 3 days per week for those at risk for falling.
READ FULL ARTICLE for more details from medscape.com
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