Maintain a Healthy Weight with the PAI App: An Effective Tool for Health
Research has demonstrated that physical activity equivalent to 100 PAI per week can help people avoid excess weight gain. PAI, short for Personal Activity Intelligence, measures how physically active an individual has been throughout the week; PAI measurements can be made with any device capable of monitoring heart rate.
Previous studies have demonstrated the benefits of 100 PAI per week as an antidote against cardiovascular disease, but this research indicates it may also aid in maintaining a healthy body weight. It included over 85.000 healthy individuals undergoing observation for over 20 years.
PAI measures all physical activities which lead to an increase in heart rate over a certain threshold, and faster heart rates equal faster PAI points earned.
The PAI algorithm generates a score each week based on your personal profile as well as heart rate variations throughout the week. Your PAI score can easily be tracked with free apps available for both Android and iPhone, such as PAI Health.
This research employed data sourced from the HUNT Study, one of the world’s largest health surveys; 85,000 participants were weighed and interviewed multiple times throughout 2008.
Between 1984 and 2008, both male and female participants saw their body weight increase on average by an estimated 8 kg on average between each follow-up visit. One key finding was that weight gains were considerably reduced among individuals who met physical activity levels of at least 100 PAIs per week during this timeframe.
The study demonstrated that even individuals who weren’t physically active during the 1980s could manage to prevent excessive weight gain by increasing their activity levels in subsequent decades, particularly the 1990s and 2000s.
Obesity and overweight are a serious public health concern that causes nearly five million deaths globally every year.
Physical activity has proven its worth as an effective strategy for mitigating or preventing weight gain among individuals, and PAI provides individuals with guidance to get adequate physical activity each week in order to protect them against adverse health effects associated with too much weight gain.