Uploaded February 2025 | Updated September 2026, 6 hours ago
Dr. I-Min Lee is a physical activity researcher. She’s a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
PAPERS:
Women’s Health Study
https://prevmed.bwh.harvard.edu/womens-health-study/
Effect of physical inactivity on major non-communicable diseases worldwide: an analysis of burden of disease and life expectancy
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22818936
Association of Step Volume and Intensity With All-Cause Mortality in Older Women
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31141585
Various Leisure-Time Physical Activities Associated With Widely Divergent Life Expectancies: The Copenhagen City Heart Study
mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(18)30538-X/abstract
ARTICLES:
Do We Really Need to Take 10000 Steps a Day for Our Health? - New York Times
nytimes.com/2021/07/06/well/move/10000-steps-health.html
BOOKS:
Epidemiologic Methods in Physical Activity Studies by I-Min Lee
amazon.com/Epidemiologic-Methods-Physical-Activity-Studies/dp/0195183002
VIDEOS:
10,000 steps: Fact, fiction, or fad? | Dr. I-Min Lee | TEDxBoston
youtu.be/hWoe7biQpYQ?si=mmk-l2JoZk8bBSN2
Old Man Strength At Muscle Beach
youtu.be/uyM6Wyg0xPg?si=QWYTWu6j0r2wP8Lc
Michelle Cen's website:
michellecen.com
0:00 I-Min Lee’s background
1:53 What physical activity epidemiologists do
5:34 Effect of physical activity vs. smoking on health
8:06 No pain, no gain?
9:50 10,000 steps per day?
10:48 Epidemiology explained
13:29 Limits of fitness trackers
15:20 Which sports are best for longevity?
17:02 How observational studies minimize errors
21:47 Drugs vs. exercise’s effect on health
23:34 How to get more physical activity in
25:00 Aerobic vs. strength training
27:00 How to know what studies to trust
29:40 People who do physical activity for work vs. leisure
30:52 Creating the US Physical Activity Guidelines
31:59 How to minimize confounding variables
33:52 How physical activity recommendations change over life
35:42 How much physical activity should one do?
36:55 How much physical activity is too much?
Dr. I-Min Lee is a physical activity researcher. She’s a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
PAPERS:
Women’s Health Study
https://prevmed.bwh.harvard.edu/womens-health-study/
Effect of physical inactivity on major non-communicable diseases worldwide: an analysis of burden of disease and life expectancy
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22818936
Association of Step Volume and Intensity With All-Cause Mortality in Older Women
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31141585
Various Leisure-Time Physical Activities Associated With Widely Divergent Life Expectancies: The Copenhagen City Heart Study
mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(18)30538-X/abstract
ARTICLES:
Do We Really Need to Take 10000 Steps a Day for Our Health? - New York Times
nytimes.com/2021/07/06/well/move/10000-steps-health.html
BOOKS:
Epidemiologic Methods in Physical Activity Studies by I-Min Lee
amazon.com/Epidemiologic-Methods-Physical-Activity-Studies/dp/0195183002
VIDEOS:
10,000 steps: Fact, fiction, or fad? | Dr. I-Min Lee | TEDxBoston
youtu.be/hWoe7biQpYQ?si=mmk-l2JoZk8bBSN2
Old Man Strength At Muscle Beach
youtu.be/uyM6Wyg0xPg?si=QWYTWu6j0r2wP8Lc
Michelle Cen's website:
michellecen.com
0:00 I-Min Lee’s background
1:53 What physical activity epidemiologists do
5:34 Effect of physical activity vs. smoking on health
8:06 No pain, no gain?
9:50 10,000 steps per day?
10:48 Epidemiology explained
13:29 Limits of fitness trackers
15:20 Which sports are best for longevity?
17:02 How observational studies minimize errors
21:47 Drugs vs. exercise’s effect on health
23:34 How to get more physical activity in
25:00 Aerobic vs. strength training
27:00 How to know what studies to trust
29:40 People who do physical activity for work vs. leisure
30:52 Creating the US Physical Activity Guidelines
31:59 How to minimize confounding variables
33:52 How physical activity recommendations change over life
35:42 How much physical activity should one do?
36:55 How much physical activity is too much?
