Getting 20 minutes of intense activity at least three days a week, or 30 minutes of moderate activity at least five days a week can make a positive difference for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Exercising more, specifically doing moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), can help people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), finds a promising study. The benefits of exercise, researchers note, were more pronounced in certain groups, like older patients, women, non-smokers, and those with more health issues. 

COPD can make it hard for the individual to breathe. The study found that when people with COPD did more exercise, it improved their health in various ways. Patients with COPD, aged over and about 40 years, who were not performing moderate to vigorous physical activity prior to the COPD diagnosis and who had at least one health screening prior to and following their diagnosis between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2018, were part of the study. 

Over 110,000 cases were studied, and the researchers compared people who increased their MVPA to those who didn’t change their activity level. They found that the group doing more exercise had a lower risk of dying from any cause, and they were also less likely to have severe breathing problems.

The study states that getting more exercise, like 20 minutes of intense activity at least three days a week or 30 minutes of moderate activity at least five days a week, can really make a positive difference for people with COPD.

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