Is 150 minutes a week really enough for your health? What the WHO actually recommends
The World Health Organization suggests at least 150 minutes of moderate activity a week. Less than half of adults in Serbia meet that figure. Here is how to hit it without a gym.
Think 150 minutes a week is a lot? That works out to just 22 minutes a day, or three five-minute walks plus a longer stretch later on. Even so, the World Health Organization’s own data shows that more than a third of the global adult population fails to hit this modest target.
The WHO recommends that all adults do 150 to 300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week, or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous activity, or a combination of the two. The number sounds neutral, but behind it sits a stark statistic, people who hit it have a significantly lower risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, depression and several forms of cancer.
What the WHO actually recommends
According to guidelines published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine and confirmed in the official 2020 WHO document still in force in 2026, all adults aged 18 to 64 should do:
- at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week, or
- at least 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, or
- an equivalent combination of moderate and vigorous activity spread across the week.
On top of that, the WHO recommends muscle-strengthening exercises for all major muscle groups at least twice a week. For adults over 65, balance and fall-prevention exercises are added in.
What counts as moderate activity
Moderate activity is anything that quickens your breathing enough so that you can still talk but cannot sing. Concretely:
- Brisk walking (around 5 km/h)
- Cycling on flat terrain
- Swimming at a leisurely pace
- Dancing
- Gardening (digging, planting, not just watering)
- Taking the stairs instead of the lift
Vigorous activity covers running, fast swimming, football, basketball and cycling over 16 km/h. The rule, you cannot speak in full sentences while doing it.
A practical schedule for a working person
The biggest mistake people make is thinking “I have no time for the gym, I cannot train”. The WHO explicitly says activity can be split however you like, including in sessions as short as 10 minutes.
Plan A: for a seven-day week
| Day | Activity | Minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Brisk walk before work | 25 |
| Tuesday | Bodyweight exercises (push-ups, squats) | 20 |
| Wednesday | Cycle to work, one way | 30 |
| Thursday | Lunchtime walk at work | 25 |
| Friday | Yoga or pilates | 30 |
| Saturday | Longer walk in nature | 45 |
| Sunday | Rest or light activity | 0-20 |
Total, around 175 minutes of moderate activity plus two strength sessions. Above the WHO minimum.
What happens when you do not hit it
According to data the WHO publishes regularly, a sedentary lifestyle is linked to a 27 to 30 per cent higher risk of heart disease and a 7 to 10 per cent higher risk of diabetes. The 150-minute figure may look arbitrary, but it represents the threshold beyond which measurable benefits start to appear clearly.
Good news, the guidelines emphasise that “any activity is better than none”. If you are currently doing zero, even 50 minutes a week is a step forward.
Five simple steps to get started
- Park ten minutes further from the office, and you bank 20 minutes of walking a day.
- Swap one coffee break with a colleague for a walk around the block.
- Set an alarm to get up every 60 minutes and move for two minutes.
- Make a longer Sunday outing into nature, even a walk along Ada Ciganlija counts.
- Before signing up to a gym, try a week of bodyweight exercises at home, that is enough to start.
Our recommendation
Do not fixate on hitting the number from day one. The goal is for physical activity to become a habit, not a punishment. Seven minutes a day done every day is worth more than two hours done once a week.
What is your biggest barrier to getting started? Time, motivation, something else? Let us know in the comments.
