What is Moderate Intensity Exercise?

Exercise can be described as mild, moderate or strenuous. How a particular activity affects you will depend on your existing levels of fitness. For example, jogging a couple of miles may be mild for someone who is very fit but strenuous for someone who is just starting a fitness programme.

In order to achieve the health benefits of physical activity you need to exercise at a moderate level. As a rule of thumb, moderate intensity exercise makes you a little warm or sweaty, and slightly out of breath, but no more than that.

Some evidence however suggests that the more vigorous the physical activity, the better for health - particularly for preventing heart disease.