55 minutes, 5 days a week

Exercise time and intensity matter if you want to drop pounds, especially if you're an overweight or obese woman. According to a study released last week, the conventional recommendation -- 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise most days of the week -- just won't produce results. This study's new target is nearly double the time for weight maintenance.

After following nearly 200 overweight or obese women ages 21 to 45 through a two-year-weight-loss program (diet and exercise), the women who lost at least 10 percent of their body weight and kept it off were exercising twice as long as what's typically advised by health authorities, and burning twice as many calories through exercise than participants who didn't lose any weight. Also, exercise was more strongly associated with weight loss than diet.

The author of this study recommends exercising about 55 minutes per day, five days a week for weight maintenance. Keep in mind, some participants needed less, some needed more. However to lose weight and improve your health, try pressing the up arrow when entering Time on your cardio toy of choice.