Is Vigorous Activity 100x more beneficial than Light Activity?
- Benjamin Richardson
- Dec 15, 2025
- 2 min read
Is vigorous activity 100x more beneficial than light activity?
Potentially yes.
That is essentially one of the major takeaways from an October 2025 Nature Communications paper based on 8 years of UK Biobank study data covering 73,000 adults.
The study authors state:
“Not even the largest amounts of daily light activity can elicit the health benefits of moderate or vigorous intensity physical activity”
It used the concept of ‘health equivalence ratio’ to assess how different exercise intensities impact health outcomes.
📊 Light vs Vigorous Activity Comparison
1 minute of vigorous activity is equivalent to around 53 minutes of light activity for reduction of all cause mortality
1 minute of vigorous activity is equivalent to around 94 minutes of light activity for diabetes risk reduction
For cardiovascular disease & major adverse cardiovascular events 1 minute of vigorous activity is equivalent to 60-140 minutes of light activity
The study also compared vigorous activity to moderate activity, and found there a 2-10 fold difference in benefit i.e., 1 minute of vigorous activity being equivalent to 2-10 minutes of moderate activity for risk reduction benefit.
⚠️ Important Caveats⚠️
Accelerometers were used to categorise activity into light, moderate and vigorous.
This is potentially superior to error-prone self-reported data but inferior to modern heart rate monitor devices for inference of activity intensity.
Shaking your wrist whilst wearing an accelerometer wrist-strap would look like vigorous activity whilst cycling may barely register at all given the wrist is not moving.
Whilst the study participants were followed for 8 years the active monitoring period of activity was just 7 days.
The examples of “vigorous” within this study were essentially any purposeful exercise such as running or cycling. The data available did not enable more precise assessment, so this is not saying anything about training zones, high intensity interval training or resistance training protocols.
👉 Key Takeaways? 👈
Despite the weaknesses of the study methodology, this does add new insight and weight to the argument that higher intensity exercise is an important part of overall activity.
Walking is fantastic, walking in nature better still, yet for those able to, there is huge added value in the use of more intense, purposeful exercise.
High intensity also does not have to be a typical, structured, continuous bout of intense exercise or intervals. It can instead take the form of ‘exercise snacks’, short but intense periods of activity performed in bouts of 1-5 minutes, multiple times throughout a day.
Vigorous activity itself varies. Think of team sports, martial arts, resistance training, running, cycling, swimming.
Beyond the disease risk reduction, all these provide specific benefits (and risks) now, such as improved body composition, functional strength, mobility & quality of life.
Wearable device-based health equivalence of different physical activity intensities against mortality, cardiometabolic disease, and cancer
My clients enjoy clear, specific, actionable guidance on how to use diet, supplementation, lifestyle and functional testing to reach their personal health goals and resolve their health issues.
Why not book a free call to find out how we would enable better health for you? 📲
Comments