Exercising 10 to 30 minutes a day boosts quality of life for overweight, obese women

Washington, Mar 14 : If you can't exercise for an hour a day then don't worry for even 10 to 30 minutes of working out can work wonders, especially for overweight, obese or sedentary members of the fairer sex, says a new study.

The study was carried out by researchers at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, who were led by Timothy S. Church, M.D., and Angela Thompson, M.S.P.H..

Research involved 430 women, average age 57, divided into four groups: three groups exercising at various levels and one control group that abstained from working out.

According to the boffins, the results showed that women who exercised for just 10 to 30 minutes every day had a better quality of life.

"While the women who participated in the highest exercise group saw the greatest improvements in most quality of life scales, the women in the lowest exercise group also saw improvements," said Angela Thompson.

"The public health message is tremendous, because it provides further support for the notion that even if someone cannot exercise an hour or more daily, getting out and exercising 10 to 30 minutes per day is beneficial, too."

While all volunteers who took part in the study in the exercise groups reported a statistically significant improvement in social functioning, it was found that the general health, vitality and mental health also improved for women who exercised from 135 to 150 minutes a week.

The researchers noted that women who worked out also improved in physical functioning, role limitations in work or other activities due to physical problems and role limitations due to emotional problems.

Said Timothy S. Church, M.D., principal investigator: "This is the first large controlled study of postmenopausal women to look at the effect of exercise training on the quality of life. It shows that exercise gives you energy and makes you feel better."

The study was presented at the American Heart Association's Conference on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism.

ANI