Meeting MVPA Guidelines Linked to Modest Reduction in CVD Risk

WEDNESDAY, May 20, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- The current guideline of 150 minutes/week moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) yields a cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk reduction of about 8 to 9 percent, while fitness retains a modest independent protective association, according to a study published online May 19 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.Zhide Liang, from Macao Polytechnic University in China, and colleagues conducted a cohort study in the U.K. Biobank to characterize the nonlinear joint dose-response relationship of accelerometer-measured MVPA and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) with incident CVD.The researchers found there were 1,233 incident CVD events during a median follow-up of 7.85 years among 17,088 participants. There was a significant nonlinear interaction seen between MVPA and CRF. Across fitness levels, meeting the 150-minutes/week guideline yielded a modest ~8 to 9 percent risk reduction; threefold to fourfold higher volumes (~560 to 610 minutes/week) were needed to achieve a >30 percent risk reduction. A modest protective association with CVD risk was retained by fitness beyond what MVPA and covariates predicted in a residual analysis (hazard ratio, 0.98 per 1 mL/kg/min). Genetically proxied higher CRF was associated with a lower risk for heart failure in Mendelian randomization analyses, while weaker and less consistent genetic evidence was seen for PA traits."These findings confirm that current guidelines provide a robust universal minimum threshold for cardiovascular protection while offering a quantifiable fitness-stratified prescription matrix as a complementary clinical tool to guide motivated patients from baseline adherence toward greater cardiovascular resilience," the authors write.Abstract/Full Text.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Meeting MVPA Guidelines Linked to Modest Reduction in CVD Risk

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