Breakdown: Who’s Physical Activity Guidelines

By Author: Elle Lam
Total Articles: 9
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The World Health Organisation (WHO) has most recently published new physical activity guidelines, aimed at improving the health of individuals around the world and assisting health practitioners in their patient-centred physical activity recommendations.

Their new guidelines consist of detailed recommendations to follow, as well as a few interesting facts about the significance of physical activity.

The Importance of Physical Activity

The WHO has recently published new research which outlines the importance of physical activity in everyday life. Along with physical activity guidelines, the report also contains a few key facts about physical activity, and some interesting statistics as well.

They are:

Sufficient amounts of physical activity enhances thinking and learning, while also reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression
Physical activity in youths can enhance growth and development
Physical activity may help with managing and preventing serious diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer
Up to 80% of the world’s youths perform insufficient ...
... levels of physical activity
Up to 5 million deaths a year could be prevented if such individuals were more physically active
One in four adults around the world do not meet the WHO’s recommended level of physical activity

What are the WHO’s Guidelines?

The WHO divided their new guidelines into exact age groups for individuals to follow. They are outlined as below.

For children under the age of one, the WHO recommends:

Being physically active several times a day, with at least 30 minutes of ‘tummy time’ (which can also be spread throughout the day)
Not being physically restrained for more than one hour at a time

For children between the ages of one and four, the WHO recommends:

Spending at least 180 minutes performing moderately to vigorously intense physical activity
Not being restrained for more than one hour at a time
For children between three to four years, they should perform at least 60 minutes of vigorous physical activity (could be spread throughout the day)

For children and adolescents between ages five to 17, the WHO recommends:

At least 60 minutes of physical activity a day
Muscle and bone strengthening exercises performed at least three times a week
Limiting the amount of time spent in front of a screen

For adults between ages 18 and 64, the WHO recommends:

150 to 300 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic physical activity during a week, or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous intensity physical activity
Muscle strengthening activities for two or more days a week
Limiting their time spent sedentary, and replacing such time instead with moderate to vigorously intense physical activity

For adults ages 65 and over, the WHO recommends:

Similar guidelines to those between ages 18 and 64
A focus on multicomponent physical activity, with an emphasis on
strength maintenance and functional balance
Exercises which enhance functional bodily capacity and prevent the impact of ‘small’ accidents such as falls

For pregnant women, the WHO recommends:

Doing at least 150 minutes of moderate levels of physical
activity during a week
Performing aerobic and muscle strengthening exercises

If you’re looking to learn more about the WHO’s new guidelines of physical activity, get in touch with a health practitioner in your local area and have them detail the new recommendations to you.