Guidelines for teenagers should stress the importance of vigorous physical activity and fitness to cut the risk of heart disease, new research suggests. Current NHS guidelines say people aged 5 to 18 should do at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day to improve their current and future health.
But in a study of adolescents aged 12 to 17, University of Exeter researchers found significant differences between the effects of moderate activity (such as brisk walking) and vigorous activity (activity that leaves people out of breath, such as team sports or running around a playground).
They found only vigorous activity had a significant effects on so-called "risk factors" that raise the chance of cardiovascular disease, such as body mass index (BMI) and waist size.
[For more on this study, go to https://www.sciencedaily.com/r.../01/180131095414.htm]
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