Recent research sheds new light on how much exercise is truly necessary to effectively prevent high blood pressure, challenging long-standing official recommendations and offering new insights with important implications for the Thai public. A study tracking over 5,000 adults for three decades has found that individuals who consistently completed about five hours of moderate physical activity each week — double the current guidelines — saw a substantial reduction in their risk of hypertension as they aged, especially if these habits were sustained into their later years (ScienceAlert).
This discovery directly impacts millions of Thais, as hypertension, or high blood pressure, remains one of the most pervasive and silent health risks in the kingdom. According to the World Health Organization, roughly one in four Thai adults, mirroring global trends, suffers from hypertension. Left uncontrolled, this condition can lead to heart attack, stroke, and is recognized as a significant risk factor for dementia in later life (WHO).
The new research, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, followed participants from four major US metropolitan areas from young adulthood into late middle age. Importantly, across all racial and gender groups, the amount of physical activity tended to decline significantly from ages 18 to 40 — just as work, family obligations, and social transitions intensified — while rates of hypertension climbed steadily. The study’s authors found that those who achieved five hours of moderate exercise per week and maintained this habit saw their risk of developing hypertension drop dramatically, compared to those meeting only the minimum recommendation of 2.5 hours per week.
“This research suggests that to effectively prevent hypertension later in life, we need to set a higher target for physical activity, especially during young adulthood,” explained a lead epidemiology expert from the University of California, San Francisco, one of the study’s principal investigators. “Nearly half of our participants in young adulthood had suboptimal levels of physical activity, which was significantly associated with the onset of hypertension, indicating that we need to raise the minimum standard for physical activity.”
The study also revealed complex social and economic influences on long-term exercise habits. “This might be especially the case after high school when opportunities for physical activity diminish as young adults transition to college, the workforce, and parenthood, and leisure time is eroded,” noted the study’s lead author, a young adult medicine researcher at UCSF.
A close examination of the data exposed pronounced disparities along racial lines that echo many public health inequities globally. Physical activity among Black participants in the US, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, continued to fall beyond age 40, and by age 60, 80–90% of Black men and women in the study had developed hypertension, compared to roughly 70% for White men and about half for White women. While the study did not assess these determinants directly, the authors linked these gaps to enduring social and economic inequalities.
For Thai readers, these findings are particularly significant. Thailand has experienced rapid urbanization and modernization, shifting traditional patterns of daily movement and work. Sedentary lifestyles, rising rates of overweight and obesity, and increasing consumption of processed foods all conspire to drive up national hypertension rates — with only about half of all people with high blood pressure in the country aware of their condition, according to the Thai Ministry of Public Health (Thai MOPH).
In Thai society, where academic and career pressures are high and filial and parental responsibilities weigh heavily during prime working years, routines too often crowd out time for exercise. Young adults tend to peak in physical fitness during their school years — sometimes through participation in sports or military service — only to see their activity levels fall away sharply as they transition to university and employment. This mirrors the US findings and highlights the urgency of embedding higher physical activity standards across the lifespan, not merely through public campaigns but also through supportive public infrastructure, employer incentives, and family or community-based activities.
Older Thai traditions, including early-morning group aerobics in public parks, temple fairs, or communal dances, offer valuable resources for fostering lifelong movement. Yet urban sprawls, traffic congestion, and the proliferation of shopping malls as leisure destinations have changed these patterns. A 2023 survey by Chulalongkorn University indicated that only about one in three Thai adults reported meeting the current minimum exercise guidelines, and far fewer achieve sustained activity at the levels suggested by this new research (Bangkok Post).
To address these trends, health officials in Thailand, along with local universities and community leaders, are increasingly promoting physical activity through creative programs: for example, car-free Sundays in Bangkok, fitness tracks along rivers and canals, and workplace wellness schemes. Yet experts caution that cultural and socioeconomic barriers must also be dismantled. “Young people, especially from low-income families, may not have the time, money, or safe places to exercise. We need more policies to create environments where everyone can fit physical activity into busy lives,” emphasized a public health advocate at Mahidol University.
Looking forward, the implications are profound: If Thais can double their weekly exercise through moderate activities — brisk walking, cycling, swimming, or even traditional Thai dance — the long-term health savings for individuals and the national healthcare system could be enormous. Schools, universities, employers, and local government can each play an instrumental role by making exercise both accessible and culturally resonant.
Practical steps Thai readers can take today include seeking out at least five hours of moderate activity each week, whether through park runs, daily commuting by bicycle, lunchtime walking groups, or reviving traditional dance sessions. Parents should model movement for children, and workplaces might introduce optional activity breaks. Health screening, including regular blood pressure checks, remains critically important for early detection, particularly for those with family histories of hypertension.
The science is clear: Doubling one’s commitment to regular exercise during the crucial years of young adulthood and maintaining the habit into older age is a potent, accessible strategy for preventing high blood pressure — and its serious complications — for all members of Thai society (American Journal of Preventive Medicine).