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Answers to your questions health prevention Sedentary lifestyle

Contents validated by the physicians of the Scientific College of the Ramsay Health Foundation

What is the recommended minimum exercise time to combat a sedentary lifestyle?

Categories FAQ
Sedentary lifestyle
General

The minimum amount of physical exercise recommended to combat a sedentary lifestyle depends on age and the intensity of the activity in question. The World Health Organization classifies the population into three age groups: 5-17, 18-64 and 65 and over. For children, the recommendations are 60 minutes of moderate-to-sustained-intensity activity per day (essentially endurance-building activities, while maintaining muscle- and skeletal-strengthening activity at least three times a week). For adults, we recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity, 75 minutes of sustained activity, or an equivalent combination of the two per week. It should be noted that each endurance exercise should last at least 10 minutes, and muscle-strengthening exercises should be performed at least twice a week. For those aged 65 and over, the recommendations are the same, but with the addition of balance exercises.

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For further information, we recommend that you consult :

The Santé Publique France website, and its thematic dossier on sedentariness & physical activity

The website of ANSES, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, and in particular its sedentary lifestyle and physical activity section.

The WHO report, which unveiled its guidelines on physical activity and sedentariness in 2020

duration activities against sedentariness

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