Exercise: how much, and which kinds?

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1. 1

   Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (Wikipedia)

   WikipediaPublished Sep 29, 2026Checked Sep 30, 2026

   “Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans are National Physical Activity Guidelines first published by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 2008. These guidelines provided physical activity recommendations for people aged six years and older, including those with many chronic health conditions and disabilities. The science-based Guidelines recommend a total amount of physical activity per week to achieve a range of health benefits. In 2018, HHS released an update to the first set of guidelines. This 2018 edition provides guidelines for people aged three years and older and summarizes the new knowledge gained from studies that were conducted since the first edition was released in 2008. These Guidelines can be tailored to meet individual interests, lifestyles, and goals. Recommendations in the Guidelines can be incorporated within daily routines and allow activities—like walking, biking, or dancing—to be integrated. The main message is that regular physical activity over months and years can produce long-term health benefits and reduce the risk of many diseases.”

2. 2

   Exploring the Role of Resistance Training in the Prevention and Management of Chronic Conditions: A Narrative Review.

   Clinics and practice (Räisänen)Published Aug 21, 2026Checked Sep 30, 2026

   “Current physical activity guidelines for Americans recommend that adults engage regularly in both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities. However, only approximately one-quarter of adults in the United States meet these recommendations, despite nearly half achieving recommended levels of aerobic activity alone. Although any form of physical activity can confer health benefits, participation in both aerobic exercise and muscle-strengthening, such as resistance training, produces more comprehensive and substantial health outcomes. As research on resistance training has evolved beyond its traditional focus on athletic performance, a growing body of evidence has demonstrated its effectiveness in the prevention and management of numerous chronic conditions. This narrative review summarizes the role of resistance training in the prevention and management of several prevalent lifestyle-related chronic conditions, including type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, dyslipidemia, and osteoporosis.”

3. 3

   Modifiable Lifestyle Factors in Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: Current Evidence and Future Directions.

   Nutrients (Benjamin & Djoussé)Published Sep 21, 2026Checked Sep 30, 2026

   “Evidence from randomized trials supports cardiovascular risk-factor and event reduction with selected dietary and exercise interventions (i.e., Mediterranean and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH)), whereas many estimates for sleep, sedentary behavior, alcohol and composite lifestyle scores derive from observational studies and should be interpreted as associations rather than causal effects. Conversely, unhealthy dietary habits, tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption, poor sleep quality, and prolonged sedentary behavior contribute to endothelial dysfunction, inflammation, metabolic dysregulation, and accelerated atherosclerosis and subsequent increased risk of CVD. Emerging evidence further underscores the importance of considering lifestyle behaviors collectively rather than individually, as their effects may be synergistic. Comprehensive lifestyle modification remains one of the most effective and cost-effective approaches to reducing cardiovascular risk and should be integrated into routine clinical practice and public health initiatives.”

4. 4

   Physical activity (Wikipedia)

   WikipediaPublished Sep 29, 2026Checked Sep 30, 2026

   “Physical activity is defined as any movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure. Physical activity encompasses all activities, at any intensity, performed during any time of day or night. It includes both voluntary exercise and incidental activity integrated into the daily routine. This integrated activity may not be planned, structured, repetitive or purposeful for the improvement of physical fitness, and may include activities such as walking to the local shop, cleaning, working, active transport etc. Lack of physical activity is associated with a range of negative health outcomes, whereas increased physical activity can improve physical and mental health, as well as cognitive and cardiovascular health. There are at least eight investments that work to increase population-level physical activity, including whole-of-school programmes, active transport, active urban design, healthcare, public education and mass media, sport for all, workplaces and community-wide programmes. Physical activity increases energy expenditure and is a key regulator in controlling body weight (see Summermatter cycle for more).”

5. 5

   Exercise and physical activity interventions in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

   Frontiers in endocrinology (Su et al.)Published Aug 20, 2026Checked Sep 30, 2026

   “Beyond modality and dose, exercise timing may further influence metabolic responses and should be considered when designing structured exercise programs. Interrupting prolonged sitting should also be incorporated as a complementary behavioral target alongside planned exercise. Because exercise is commonly implemented alongside glucose-lowering therapy, medication-related safety should also be considered when individualizing exercise programs. In individuals with diabetes-related complications, exercise should not be regarded as universally contraindicated, but should be adapted according to complication severity, safety considerations, and functional capacity. Older adults require prescriptions that preserve muscle strength, balance, joint mobility, and functional independence, whereas youth-onset T2DM requires early, developmentally tailored strategies that support long-term adherence. Overall, exercise and physical activity should be conceptualized as a precise, adaptable, and clinically essential therapy for T2DM.”

6. 6

   Physiological specificity of muscle-strengthening activity: a comparative analysis of associations with arthritis and cardiovascular disease prevalence in U.S. adults (NHIS 2024).

   Preventive medicine reports (Anheyer et al.)Published May 8, 2026Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “We examined whether MSA relates more strongly to arthritis than to cardiovascular disease (CVD).MethodsWe analyzed 31,238 non-institutionalized U.S. adults from the 2024 National Health Interview Survey in a cross-sectional design. Outcomes were self-reported physician diagnoses of arthritis and CVD. We fitted separate survey-weighted logistic regression models for arthritis and CVD, adjusting for APA, age, sex, race/ethnicity, body mass index, and smoking.ResultsEach additional MSA day per week was associated with lower arthritis prevalence (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.92, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.88-0.96). No association was observed for CVD (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.92-1.04). The formal comparison indicated a significantly stronger association of MSA with arthritis than with CVD (P = 0.027).ConclusionsMSA was associated with lower arthritis prevalence but not with CVD, despite adjustment for APA and major confounders. These findings are compatible with more salient musculoskeletal than cardiovascular benefits of MSA. Promoting MSA alongside aerobic activity may support joint health and functional mobility across adulthood.”

7. 7

   Association of muscle-strengthening and aerobic physical activity with all-cause, cardiovascular disease, and cancer mortality in US adults with diabetes.

   European journal of preventive cardiology (Dai et al.)Published Sep 1, 2026Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “Muscle-strengthening activity and MVPA were derived from standardized questionnaires. Mortality by 2019 was ascertained through linkage to the National Death Index. Cox models were utilized to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs). Over 270 178 person-years, 6716 all-cause, 1995 CVD, and 1202 cancer deaths were documented in the study population (mean age, 55.7 years, 51.6% female). There were U-shaped associations of MSA with all-cause mortality risk, with ≤ 3 times/week associated with mortality benefits. Compared with no MSA, aHRs of all-cause mortality were 0.72 (95% confidence interval, 0.47-1.10) for MSA ConclusionFor adults with diabetes, performing MSA ≤ 3 times/week may be associated with lower all-cause, CVD, and cancer mortality risk, independent of MVPA. Jointly performing MSA ≤ 2 times/week and MVPA ≥ 150 min/week may confer the lowest all-cause and CVD mortality risk.”

8. 8

   Supervised versus non-supervised exercise intervention for blood pressure reduction in patients with hypertension and prehypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

   Brazilian journal of physical therapy (Lin et al.)Published Sep 16, 2026Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “Interventions included continuous aerobic training, high-intensity interval training, isometric handgrip, and combined exercise. Meta-analysis showed a significant between-group difference in systolic blood pressure reduction favoring supervised exercise (mean difference = -3.46 mmHg; 95% CI: -5.94, -0.97; p = 0.006), although heterogeneity was substantial (I² = 74%), particularly during continuous aerobic training in the subgroup analysis (p = 0.003, I2 = 64%). In contrast, no significant between-group difference was observed in diastolic blood pressure reduction (mean difference = -0.99 mmHg; 95% CI: -3.38, 1.39; p = 0.41), with high heterogeneity (I² = 89%).ConclusionSupervised exercise interventions may be more effective than non-supervised programs in lowering systolic blood pressure, particularly with continuous aerobic training. However, no significant between-group differences were observed for diastolic blood pressure reduction, and the influence of supervision on diastolic blood pressure outcomes remains uncertain. These findings should be interpreted with caution due to the substantial heterogeneity and methodological limitations among the included studies.”

9. 9

   The epidemiology of physical activity guideline adherence among 35,633 adults: Findings from the South Australian Population Health Survey.

   Preventive medicine (Bennie et al.)Published Apr 27, 2026Checked Sep 30, 2026

   “Weighted proportions meeting both guidelines (MVPA ≥150 min/week/MSE ≥2 times/week) were calculated. Poisson regression estimated prevalence ratios for meeting both guidelines across sociodemographic/lifestyle factors and for nine chronic conditions by guideline adherence (met neither; MVPA only; MSE only; met both), adjusted for confounders (e.g., age, smoking, body mass index).ResultsAmong 35,633 adults (18-64 years), 25.1% (95% CI: 24.7, 25.6%) met both MVPA-MSE guidelines. In a multivariate analysis, older adults, women, people from socioeconomically disadvantaged areas, and those living with obesity had lower prevalence ratios for meeting both guidelines. Meeting both guidelines was associated with the lowest prevalence ratios for anxiety, cardiovascular disease, depression, diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension.ConclusionLow prevalence of meeting guidelines and associations with chronic conditions highlight the need for strategies that promote physical activity by addressing both inequalities in access and wider social, environmental, and structural determinants.”