Ahmadi describes these findings as especially exciting, because research shows that the majority of UK adults over the age of 40 do not take part in regular exercise or sport, often due to time constraints or other barriers. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this reflects a worrying global trend where nearly 1.8 billion adults are at risk of disease because they don’t do enough physical activity.
“We all know that physical activity is good for our health but many of us are not active enough,” says Amanda Daley, professor of behavioural medicine at Loughborough University in the UK. “There are lots of reasons, with the most common one being not having enough time. The micro exercise [or VILPA] approach to physical activity only requires a few minutes of people’s time, a few times a day over a week, making it very easy, accessible and inexpensive.”
What VILPA shows is that simply tweaking your day so that you run for the bus, power walk around the house when doing errands, or carry out the housework or gardening with a bit more energy can make a significant difference when it comes to improving your health. These are all everyday examples of VILPA, as is playing high-energy games with your children and pets. “We have different opportunities to engage in moderate to vigorous activity and it doesn’t necessarily have to be through [formal] exercise or specialised gym equipment,” says Ahmadi. “If you’re going for a walk, mixing in brief bursts of fast-paced walking can be an easy way to accrue VILPA.”
Getty imagesEveryday activities such as playing with your children or pets can boost fitness (Credit: Getty images)
Surveys show that people respond positively to the idea, as it highlights the benefits of activities which they may not previously have considered to be health-boosting. Researchers like Ahmadi and Shigenori Ito, a cardiologist at Sankuro Hospital in Japan, say that the VILPA concept can even be used as a way of improving strength through activities such as carrying heavy shopping bags each day, or working the leg muscles and joints by briskly climbing a flight of stairs.