For patients · Reading time 8 minutes · Version 1.1 · Translation of the German page, medically reviewed on 7 October 2026 · the German version is authoritative · Diese Seite auf Deutsch
Exercise and food: 150 minutes, and what they bring
No medicine lowers the risk of heart attack, diabetes, depression and early death as broadly as regular exercise. The dose is known: 150 minutes a week, on two or three days. Here is what that brings, what such a week looks like, and which eight rules for eating are really supported by evidence.
The essentials in three sentences
- 150 minutes a week, brisk enough that you can talk but not sing. Spread out or at the weekend, it does not matter.
- Plus something for strength on two days. Thirty minutes a week is enough.
- When eating: like the Mediterranean, and as little ready-made food as possible. Everything else is detail.
See us first if any of these applies
- Pressure or pain in the chest on exertion, or at rest in the last few weeks
- Fainting or near-fainting on exertion
- Unusual breathlessness even with light exertion
- A known heart disease, a heart attack or stroke in the past
- Irregular, racing heartbeat on exertion
For everyone else: starting is safer than waiting. The risk of harming yourself by brisk walking is tiny; the risk of sitting is not.
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What 150 minutes bring, in numbers
From the large observational studies and reviews of the last ten years. Averages over many people, a direction for you.
Dying early
−31 %
Anyone who is moderately active for 150 to 300 minutes a week has, over 14 years, a 31 % lower risk of death than someone who does not move at all. Even less than 150 minutes brings 20 %. More than 300 brings 37 %; beyond that it hardly improves.
Arem 2015, 661,000 people
Type 2 diabetes
−26 %
150 minutes a week lower the risk of developing diabetes by a quarter. 300 minutes by a third.
Smith 2016, 28 studies
Blood pressure
−8 mmHg
In people with high blood pressure, regular endurance training lowers the upper value by about 8, the lower by 5. That is as much as a medicine.
Cornelissen 2013
Depression
like therapy
Brisk walking or running, yoga and strength training improve depression moderately in studies, in the order of psychotherapy or medication. The more strenuous, the clearer.
Noetel 2024, 218 studies
Strength training
−10 to −17 %
30 to 60 minutes of strength a week, independent of endurance training, lower mortality, heart disease, cancer and diabetes by 10 to 17 %. More than 60 minutes adds nothing.
Momma 2022, 16 cohorts
Steps
7,000
Over 60: from 6,000 to 8,000 steps a day the risk falls no further. Under 60: 8,000 to 10,000. The 10,000 come from a Japanese advertisement of 1965.
Paluch 2022, 47,000 people
Only at the weekend?
just as good
Anyone who collects the 150 minutes on one or two days has the same risk of death as someone who spreads them over the week. The amount counts, not the distribution.
dos Santos 2022, 351,000 people
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Your week
Put together what suits you, or take an example. Vigorous minutes count double, strength counts separately. The planner stays on your device.
so that you can talk but not sing
Endurance per week
0
moderate minutes
Strength
0 days
0 minutes · goal: 2 days
Days with exercise
0
Distribution does not matter
No gain yet. Nothing planned yet. The biggest leap is from nothing to anything.
The plan stays on this device. The percentages are averages from observational studies over many years; for you personally they are a direction, not a promise.
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Starting and keeping going
What is needed is known. Doing it regularly is the art.
1Start with ten minutes
Anyone who does nothing today starts with ten minutes of walking, not with a marathon plan. After two weeks, fifteen. The body catches up, and so does the habit.
2Fixed appointments
Exercise that is in the calendar happens. Exercise that is meant to happen "sometime" does not.
3In twos
You cancel an appointment with someone else less often than one with yourself. Partner, neighbour, dog.
4Count what counts
A step counter on the phone is enough. Not 10,000 as the goal, but 1,000 more than last week.
5Plan for bad weeks
There will be weeks when nothing works. That is not failure but a break. Afterwards carry on with half the amount.
6Exercise on prescription
In Germany we can prescribe rehabilitation sport and functional training, paid for by statutory health insurance. Prevention courses are subsidised too. Ask us.
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Food: eight rules that hold
There are a thousand pieces of dietary advice. These eight are supported by large studies; the rest is fashion.
Eat like the Mediterranean
Well establishedPlenty of vegetables, fruit, pulses, nuts, wholegrain, plant oil, fish; little meat and sweets. In the study it was olive oil; for everyday use in Germany rapeseed oil is the better choice because its composition is more balanced. In the large Spanish study, people at high risk had 30 % fewer heart attacks and strokes with it than with a low-fat diet.
Estruch 2018, 7,400 people
Avoid ultra-processed food
Well establishedReady meals, soft drinks, sausage, crisps, confectionery, breakfast cereals: people who eat a lot of these have a 21 % higher risk of death, 40 % more diabetes, 22 % more depression. Rule of thumb: anything with more than five ingredients no kitchen knows is ultra-processed.
Lane 2024, review of 45 meta-analyses
Five portions of vegetables and fruit
Well establishedThree vegetables, two fruit, one portion is a handful. Frozen counts. Juice does not count, that is sugar.
Wholegrain instead of white flour
Well establishedBread, pasta, rice in their wholegrain version keep you full for longer and let blood sugar rise more slowly. The swap costs nothing.
Pulses and nuts
Well establishedLentils, beans, chickpeas two to three times a week, a handful of nuts a day. Protein and fibre that can replace meat.
Less red and processed meat
Well establishedSausage, ham, bacon as rarely as possible; red meat at most two to three times a week. Poultry and fish are the better choice.
Sugar, especially drunk
Well establishedSoft drinks, juices, sweetened coffee: sugar that is drunk does not fill you and goes straight to the liver and fat tissue. Water, tea, coffee without sugar.
Alcohol: less is better
Well establishedSince 2023 the World Health Organization has said: there is no amount of alcohol that benefits health; the risk begins with the first glass and grows with each one. The glass of red wine for the heart has been disproved. With little and not daily, the risk stays small. So anyone who drinks does so for pleasure, not for health, and knows what they are doing.
A personal note
The doctor responsible for this page enjoys a good glass of red wine and the occasional cocktail, and does not feel unhealthily nourished because of it. The numbers above are still correct. Both together are the honest answer: alcohol is not a health remedy, and a life without any pleasure is no life. His grandfather put it more briefly:
“Food and drink keep body and soul together.”
The eight rules are for most days. For the others, the grandfather is in charge.
Eight swaps that cost nothing
| Instead of | Better |
|---|---|
| White bread | Wholegrain bread |
| Cola, juice, energy drink | Water, tea, coffee without sugar |
| Sausage sandwich | Bread with hummus, cheese, egg, avocado |
| Crisps in the evening | Nuts, a handful |
| Frozen pizza | Pizza or flatbread topped yourself, with plenty of vegetables and little cheese |
| Butter for frying | Rapeseed or wheatgerm oil |
| Sugared breakfast cereal | Porridge oats with fruit and nuts |
| Fruit yoghurt | Natural yoghurt with fruit |
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From other traditions, and from advertising
Further reading. Each item says how well it is supported by Western studies.
Yoga, tai chi, qigong
India, China
Some studies, small effectFor depression as effective in studies as other exercise, for high blood pressure a small reduction. Very suitable as strength and balance training for older people. For the 150 minutes they count as moderate.
Intermittent fasting
many traditions, today a lifestyle
Some studies, small effectFor losing weight as good in studies as other calorie restriction, not better. Anyone who keeps it up better this way should do it. Not with diabetes on insulin without consulting us.
Ayurvedic constitutional diet
India
Not supported by Western studiesThe division into types cannot be verified. Much of it, vegetables, spices, eating slowly, is sensible all the same.
Detox cures
Western wellness
Not supported by Western studiesThe body detoxifies with liver and kidneys, every day. Juices and powders speed up nothing. Expensive and sometimes laced with laxatives.
Superfoods
Marketing
Not supported by Western studiesChia, goji, açaí are good foods, but no better than linseed, blueberries and apples from nearby. The price is what is special.
Training on an empty stomach
Sports scene
Few, small studiesBurns a little more fat in that hour, not by the end of the day. Anyone who feels fine in the morning without breakfast may; anyone who gets dizzy eats first.
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Quick check: what will you take away?
Five questions for anyone who likes. No marks.
1. How much exercise a week does the World Health Organization recommend?
2. You only manage the 150 minutes at the weekend. Does that bring less?
3. How do you recognise moderate exertion?
4. What lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes by a quarter?
5. Which food is ultra-processed?
No marks, no time pressure. Your progress is kept on this device only.
What this page cannot do
It does not replace an examination or advice for diabetes, heart disease, pregnancy or eating disorders. The percentages come from studies that observe people, not from experiments; they show associations, not guarantees. A separate page on eating with diabetes exists in German. This page is a translation of the German original, which is the medically reviewed version; where the two differ, the German text applies.
Version 1.1 · Translation of the German page, medically reviewed on 7 October 2026 · the German version is authoritative
Reviewed by Stefan Höhne, Facharzt für Allgemeinmedizin. Numbers, doses and emergency numbers are identical to the German version and checked automatically. If anything is unclear, the German text applies.
Sources: WHO guidelines on physical activity 2020; Arem and colleagues 2015 (mortality); Smith and colleagues 2016 (diabetes); Cornelissen and Smart 2013 (blood pressure); Noetel and colleagues, BMJ 2024 (depression); Momma and colleagues 2022 (strength); Paluch and colleagues 2022 (steps); dos Santos and colleagues 2022 (weekend warriors); Estruch and colleagues, NEJM 2018 (Mediterranean diet); Lane and colleagues, BMJ 2024 (ultra-processed food). Medically responsible: Stefan Höhne, specialist in general practice (Facharzt für Allgemeinmedizin). This page is independent: no sponsor, no advertising, no brand names. All patient information (German)