A new study from Statistics Canada is looking at the benefits of physical activity undertaken at lower intensities than are typically measured in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) studies. It found that minutes and steps spent in light-intensity physical activity (LPA) were significantly associated with reduced odds of having cardiovascular disease, two or more chronic conditions and poor or fair health in general.

“Minutes and steps in high LPA were significantly associated with reduced odds of having cardiovascular disease,” the agency’s researchers write in the paper, The missing middle: Exploring light-intensity physical activity and how it relates to health among adults in Canada.

“While spending time in MVPA is positive for health, this study suggests that increasing daily minutes and steps in higher intensity LPA is also associated with health benefits. This study is consistent with previous studies that show all movement is beneficial, including LPA, particularly when it replaces sedentary behaviour,” they add.

MVPA refers to movement that significantly raises heart rates and breathing.

“These results are encouraging because they do reinforce the principle that we believe is important, which is that long-term health outcomes come from small changes,” says Karen Cutler, vice president and chief underwriter with Manulife individual insurance. She adds that the paper’s findings also align with the same principles underpinning the company’s Vitality program.

The Statistics Canada paper notes that less than half of Canadian adults, 46 per cent on average, obtain the recommended 150 minutes per week of MVPA. It also notes that the health benefits of MVPA are well known, as are the impacts of excess sedentary time. “Less is known about the benefits of activity undertaken at intensities between sedentary and moderate.”

“I thought it was really encouraging that we’re starting to look at that perspective,” Cutler agrees. “There’s so much information out there about moderate to vigorous intensity exercise; this will be incredibly encouraging for people who just don’t see themselves as having the time to do that level of work.”

The paper also notes that the majority of Canadian’s physical activity comes from periods of LPA, a finding which Cutler says is true in Manulife’s data, as well.

Mid LPA, meanwhile, appears to be the level at which more meaningful associations start to emerge, Statistics Canada’s researchers add.

“While more time in sedentary behaviour was associated with increased odds of adverse health outcomes, as observed in other studies, this study confirms that more time moving at a light intensity can be beneficial for health,” they write. “Namely, mid LPA appeared to represent the tipping point at which protective associations emerged.”

Insurers can play a supporting role

Cutler says the findings are an opportunity for insurers to play a supporting role by both providing health risk education and by rewarding healthier behaviours. She adds that a decade’s worth of Vitality data also shows that people will take action when given education and incentives. “People are really looking for encouragement,” she says, adding that 

participants are generally quite receptive to the program’s education and nudges.

“All movement is good movement. Whether or not you drop pounds and move your BMI is another issue, but being physically active, all of the research shows that movement will move those things (blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose and BMI) in the right direction, including your lipids, your cholesterol and everything else,” she says. “We’ve encouraged people to look at those four markets of health and how we’ve moved them into healthier ranges, just because they suddenly had that information.”

Among Manulife Vitality members who began with out-of-range biometric results and later completed additional health assessments, 53 per cent moved into the healthy range for cholesterol, 46 per cent for blood pressure, 37 per cent for BMI and 23 per cent for blood glucose.

She adds again that small changes add up: “If you invest 30 minutes today, your outcome 20 years from now is going to be very different than for those people who don’t do that investment today,” she says. “That’s the behaviour change we’re trying to help our customers achieve.”