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. 2013 Dec 20;8(12):e84365. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0084365

Table 1. Metabolic Equivalent of Tasks (METs) cut-points according to different physical activity recommendation.

PA recommendation   METs cut-point to define (MVPA)
ACSM/AHA ≥3.0 METs (for all ages)
ACSM/AHAO ≥3.0 METs (≤65 years) ≥50% VO2 reserve (METs) (>65 years)
50% VO2 reserve Relative METs cut point corresponding to 50% VO2 reserve for each subject
ACSM 2011 ≥4.0 METs (≤65 years) ≥3.2 METs (>65 years)

ACSM/AHA= current American College of Sports Medicine and American Heart Association recommendation (2007); ACSM/AHAo= American College of Sports Medicine recommendation for older adults (2007); 50% VO2 reserve= individual cut-point corresponding to 50% of oxygen uptake reserve; ACSM 2011: age-dependent cut-points from ACSM Position Stand 2011. MVPA= time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activities.