30-second survey that reveals your risk for 19 diseases

Research shows that a 30-second survey can identify who is at risk for more than a dozen diseases.

This two-question questionnaire is so accurate and simple that doctors want it added to patients’ annual physical exams.

The first question is: On average, how many days per week do you engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity (such as a brisk walk)?

The second is: How many minutes on average do you practice at this level?

People who were the least active were at much higher risk of 19 chronic diseases, including cancer, heart disease and diabetes, as well as mental health problems such as depression.

This was independent of other risk factors, such as whether the person smoked or their body mass index (BMI).

Dr. Lucas Carr, professor of health and human physiology at the University of Iowa who led the new study, said: ‘This two-question survey usually takes less than 30 seconds to complete so it doesn’t hinder your visit. But it can tell us a lot about the patient’s overall health.’

He plans to offer the questionnaire to patients during their annual checkups, saying most hospitals in the U.S. don’t ask patients about their physical activity.

For the new study, Carr and his team examined responses from more than 7,000 patients at the University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center.

They were given the short questionnaire, known as The Exercise Vital Sign survey, during health visits between November 2017 and December 2022.

The researchers divided the patients into three groups: people who did not exercise at all, people who were active between 1 and 149 minutes per week, and those who exercised at least 150 minutes per week.

In total, 60 percent of patients were considered active, 36 percent were insufficiently active, and 4 percent were inactive.

The CDC recommends adults ages 18 to 64 do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, such as brisk walking, biking or gardening.

The new study found that those who met the CDC recommendation were up to a third less likely to have 19 chronic conditions compared to those who rarely exercised.

The Iowa team believes their simple research could help doctors target inactive people who are most at risk for disease.

Dr. Carr said, “For these patients, many of whom are reporting insufficient activity, we need options to easily connect them with support services such as exercise prescriptions and/or community health specialists.”

A lack of exercise has been linked to cancer, dementia and other deadly diseases (stock image)

The researchers also compared the results of patients who completed the surveys with more than 33,000 patients who were not offered the survey in other parts of the hospital.

The team found that patients who took the survey were younger and in better health than the patient population who did not receive the questionnaire, based on analysis of all patients’ electronic medical records.

“We believe this finding is the result of patients who take the time to take their annual wellness exams also take more time to engage in healthy behaviors such as being physically active,” Carr said.

The CDC recommends that American adults get two days of strength training per week in addition to their 150 minutes of aerobic exercise.

But data shows that only one in four people meets that goal.