New research that was released in the journal Pediatrics reveals that the most effective strategy for adolescents to acquire and maintain their cardiorespiratory fitness is for them to exercise intensely for twenty minutes every day.
During strenuous physical activity, a person’s cardiorespiratory fitness is measured by how efficiently their heart and lungs provide oxygen to their body’s muscles and organs. It has been shown that having a healthy cardiorespiratory fitness level reduces the risk of a variety of health problems, including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cardiac disease, as well as mental health issues.
Participants in the study comprised 339 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 14 who took part in school-based fitness programs that concentrated on running for a period of two years. The adolescents wore wrist-worn trackers to monitor the intensity of their exercises.
What did the study find?
After twenty minutes of jogging at a hard pace, the researchers discovered that the adolescents reached their maximum level of cardiorespiratory fitness. Even though they worked out for longer, there was no improvement in their fitness. According to the most recent guidelines, children and adolescents should engage in at least one hour per day of ranging from mild to vigorous physical activity in order to maximize their fitness. However, according to specialists in health and fitness, many adolescents find it hard to maintain their daily time investment.
Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, just one-fourth of young people engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity for one hour every day. According to the results of the study, it is not necessary to engage in longer periods of physical activity in order to enhance one’s cardiorespiratory fitness if one engages in intense exercise as opposed to moderate exercise.
One example of this would be running as opposed to brisk walking. They point out, though, that only cardiorespiratory fitness was evaluated, and that other elements of adolescents’ health may improve from physical exercise that is performed at a lower intensity.