You may need to exercise more than you think. Daily physical activity is encouraged by doctors and other experts but new research suggests that you may need to exercise more in order to lower your risk for disease. “Researchers [in the United States and Australia]…conducted a meta-analysis of 174 studies published between 1980 and 2016 that examined the effect of exercise on five chronic diseases: breast cancer, colon cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Study authors observed that, to a certain point, the more a person exercised, the lower his or her risk of all five conditions. But the sweet spot for health gains occurred when individuals had a total activity level of 3000-4000 metabolic equivalent (MET) minutes a week, according to a news release…MET measures express the energy cost of physical activity, which is calculated by the number of calories an activity can burn multiplied by the number of minutes a person is engaged in said activity.” The researchers said that 3000-4000 METs a week can be achieved by always staying active. Examples included taking the stairs for 10 minutes, running for 20 minutes, and going on a bike ride for 25 minutes.