Easy Exercise is More Important Than You Think

The overlooked benefits of light physical activity for all ages

Zachary Walston, PT, DPT, OCS
In Fitness And In Health

--

Photo by OPPO Find X5 Pro on Unsplash

Light-intensity physical activity often flies under the radar when we talk about exercise, but it plays a vital role in maintaining and improving health.

Physical activity (PA) guidelines around the world recommend that adults aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity each week to gain health benefits. However, these recommendations often leave out guidance on light-intensity physical activity. This can lead people to believe that if they aren’t doing moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, like resistance training and running, they are inactive, and light physical activity doesn’t matter.

Research tells us otherwise.

But first, what is light physical activity?

What is light-intensity physical activity?

A common way to measure exercise intensity is metabolic equivalents or METs. A MET compares how much energy your body uses during an activity to how much energy it uses when you’re resting. It’s a way to measure how hard your body is working during exercise or other activities. One MET is roughly equal to using 3.5 milliliters of oxygen for every kilogram…

--

--