Courtesy Clipart.com

When public health officials recommended last year that individuals should get at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week, it begged the question, “What qualifies as moderate exercise?” Take walking, for example. Some people motor along as if they’re late for dinner, while others mosey along at a snail’s pace. Does all of that count as moderate activity?

Researchers at San Diego State University recently conducted some tests that might provide an easy way to answer that question. They tested oxygen consumption in people walking at speeds from about 2.5 mph to 4 mph on a treadmill.

They found that men hit the moderate exercise threshold at between 92 and 102 steps per minute. Women crossed into moderate exercise at between 91 and 115 steps per minute.

The researchers concluded that if you walk along flat terrain at a speed of 100 steps a minute, you’re likely to be meeting your goal. You can count steps yourself, or better yet, get a pedometer. Shoot for walking 1,000 steps in 10 minutes at first, then work your way up to 3,000 steps in 30 minutes.

— Markian Hawryluk, The Bulletin