How much exercise helps if you're insulin resistant?
Effects of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on the associations between an insulin resistance surrogate and incident cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality: a UK Biobank cohort study
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
More than 600 minutes of exercise per week provided no additional protection against death or heart disease compared to the recommended 150–299 minutes — even for people with insulin resistance.
Most public health messaging pushes for 'more is better,' but this massive study shows a hard plateau — pushing beyond 4.5 hours/week doesn’t extend life further, which contradicts elite athlete narratives and fitness culture.
Practical Takeaways
Aim for 150–299 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise per week (e.g., brisk walking, cycling, or jogging) — that’s 30–45 minutes, 5 days a week — especially if you have a large waist, high triglycerides, or elevated fasting blood sugar.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
More than 600 minutes of exercise per week provided no additional protection against death or heart disease compared to the recommended 150–299 minutes — even for people with insulin resistance.
Most public health messaging pushes for 'more is better,' but this massive study shows a hard plateau — pushing beyond 4.5 hours/week doesn’t extend life further, which contradicts elite athlete narratives and fitness culture.
Practical Takeaways
Aim for 150–299 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise per week (e.g., brisk walking, cycling, or jogging) — that’s 30–45 minutes, 5 days a week — especially if you have a large waist, high triglycerides, or elevated fasting blood sugar.
Publication
Journal
Frontiers in Endocrinology
Year
2025
Authors
Ying Zhu, Tianci Yao, Hong Yan, Qinmei Ke
Related Content
Claims (6)
If you're an adult without heart disease and you get 150 to 300 minutes of brisk exercise each week, you're less likely to die from any cause — especially if your body has trouble processing sugar. This amount of activity might help reduce the danger that comes with metabolic issues.
People with higher insulin resistance—measured by a specific blood test—are much more likely to have heart problems or die from any cause, even if they’ve never had heart disease before.
Doing a moderate to intense workout for about 262 minutes a week is the sweet spot for protecting your heart — going more than that doesn’t help any more.
Even if you exercise a lot and meet the recommended activity guidelines, having very bad insulin resistance can still make you more likely to die from any cause — meaning exercise alone isn’t enough to completely protect you from serious metabolic problems.
If you exercise hard for more than 42 minutes every day, you’re less likely to have heart problems later on.