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Hi, I'm Dr. Cindy Haines, host of HealthDay TV. For some women, physical activity may work like medicine for staying at a healthy weight, with a bigger dose associated with less obesity Major health organizations recommend that adults get at least 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity five days a week. An alternative is to get at least 20 minutes of vigorous activity three days weekly, or to combine these types. A new study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health finds that more leisure-time activity may provide more benefit. The researchers included more than 12,000 adults who participated in national surveys. They found that 41.4 percent of women who had no leisure-time physical activity in the past month were obese. However, only 31 percent of women who met the recommended minimum guidelines were obese. And only 19.5 percent of women getting the most leisure-time activity were obese. Leisure-time physical activity is defined as exercise, sports, and active hobbies that you do on your own time, as opposed to physical activity at work. This pattern wasn't seen in men, however, and it was especially noticeable in white women. But this could be due to the amount of physical activity that different groups also perform at work, according to the authors. I'm Dr. Cindy Haines of HealthDay TV, with the news that doctors are reading; health news that matters to you.
