Dose-Response Relation Between Physical Activity and Fitness
Even a Little Is Good; More Is Better
- I-Min Lee, MBBS, ScD
- Author Affiliation: Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School and Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston.
- Corresponding Author and Reprints: I-Min Lee, MBBS, ScD, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 900 Commonwealth Ave E, Boston, MA 02215 (ilee{at}rics.bwh.harvard.edu).
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
- KEYWORDS:
- CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES
- DIET
- DOSE-RESPONSE RELATIONSHIP
- EXERCISE
- MOTOR ACTIVITY
- PHYSICAL FITNESS
- WEIGHT LOSS
The concept of dose is important in clinical medicine. In the pharmacological treatment of many conditions, physicians typically start with a dose of a drug believed to be the minimum effective dose. If the patient does not respond, this initial dose may then be titrated upward to a maximum dose, beyond which the adverse effects of the drug are unacceptable for treatment. Thus, all marketed drugs require data on their efficacy and safety.
Physical activity, while not a drug, can behave like one—it causes many physiological changes in the body (often beneficial for health),1 helps prevent the development of many chronic diseases,2 and is a useful adjunct to drug treatment for many diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes.3-4 Health care professionals, including physicians, are encouraged to prescribe physical activity for health.3-4 It is plausible that there is a minimum dose of …
