Research suggests being physically active, even only a few days a week, the key can be to better health

Being physically physically active for one to two days a week, often called a “weekend fighter”, can offer similar health and life-producing benefits if smaller doses of daily physical activity is moderate to powerful and 150 minutes a week is in accordance with the recommended guidelines for weekly physical activity, according to research that is in the weekly physical activity, Journal of the American Heart Association.

“You don’t have to exercise every day to stay healthy. As long as you get a moderate to powerful physical activity per week or you are now packaged or distributed in one to two days, you can significantly reduce your risk to die from the cardiovascular diseases, cancer or other causes in the Southern Medical University, Churchhow.

“This message is encouraging news for busy people who have difficulty fitting in daily training, but can manage concentrated activities during the weekend or more than a few days,” Li said. “The research offers reassuring evidence that even sporadic physical activity can have permanent health benefits, making it easier for people to prioritize their well -being in the midst of busy schemes.”

To achieve health benefits, both the World Health Organisation and the American Heart Association Advise that adults for a week 150 to 300 minutes aerobic physical activity of moderate intensity, or 75 to 150 minutes of powerful intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate and powerful intensity activity.

Researchers investigated data on health and physical activity for more than 93,000 people in a large biomedical database in the UK to investigate how different physical activity patterns can influence the risk of dying from all causes, in particular cardiovascular diseases and cancer. They assessed physical activity data that has been collected from polscurrent meters, devices that measure movement and are probably more accurate than participants questions about their activity.

The study categorized the data in three groups: “Active Weekend Warrior” – people who completed most of their exercise in one or two days; “Active Regular” – who spread their activity during the week; and “inactive” participants who have not completed the recommended minimum of 150 minutes weekly physical activity.

In comparison with the inactive group, the weekend fighter and active regular groups had a considerably lower risk of death due to all causes: cardiovascular disease and cancer if they completed 150 minutes of physical activity per week.

The analysis was also found:

• For weekend fighters, the risk of death for all causes was 32% lower; The risk of death due to cardiovascular disease was 31% lower; And the risk of death due to cancer was 21% lower.
• Among participants in the active regular group, the risk of death was 26% lower due to all causes; The risk of death due to cardiovascular disease was 24% lower; And the risk of death due to cancer was 13% lower.
• There were no significant differences in the risk of death between the weekend fighter versus the active regular group.

Although the new research is in accordance with earlier studies, it is the first to analyze the relationship between physical activity patterns measured by gear meters and the risk of death due to cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

Some findings surprise the research team, which initially expected that spreading activity during the week would be cheaper. They did not expect the condensed physical activity of weekend fighters to reduce the risk of death due to diseases.

“This reinforces the idea that complying with the 150 -minute physical activity per week guideline is the key to a long service life, regardless of the activity pattern,” Li said. “Any activity – whether it concerns structured exercises such as jogging or daily tasks such as gardening – can be admitted if the intensity is moderate to powerful.”

American Heart Association Expert -volunteer Keith Diaz, Ph.D., said that the findings emphasize that the total volume of physical activity is the crucial factor for health benefits, rather than how it is distributed during a week. Diaz, the Florence Irving Assistantitarian Behavioral Medicine at the Columbia University Medical Center in New York, was not involved in this study.

“Many people struggle to fit into the daily exercise during the working week; however, this study shows that even if you can only be active during the weekend, you can still achieve meaningful health benefits,” said Diaz, a member of the physical activity sciences of the association.

“An important reservation to remember is that trying to fit 150 minutes practice in just one or two days, can be a lot on your body,” he added.

“Some studies suggest that weekend fighters have a slightly higher risk of musculoskeletal injuries compared to those who exercise more often. The benefits of sports only weigh much heavier than the potential risks during the weekend.

“If you become a weekend fighter, make sure that you perform and build up the right warming and walk on to higher amounts of activity over time. This will help to reduce your risk of injuries.”

The study had various limitations, including that physical activity was only measured at the start; Participants lived in the UK and most were white, so the results cannot apply to other populations.

The researchers said that future studies must be carried out to confirm these results in more diverse groups of people around the world and with more attention to conflicting factors such as genetic predisposition or exposure to the environment that can influence physical activity and the results.

Study details, background and design:

• The research data was aimed at seven days of gear meter-measured physical activity from 2013 to 2015 for 93,409 participants, 37 to 73 years, registered in the British Biobank.
• More than 56% of the participants were women, 97% were white and their average age was 62 years old.
• Based on gear meter data, more than 42% of the participants were classified as Weekend Warrior, about 24% as active regularly and almost 34% as inactive.
• The gears have recorded a series of activities, including walking, jogging, stationary cycling, elliptical exercises, household tasks, gardening and leisure activities such as dancing.
• During eight years of follow-up, nearly 4,000 adults died of all causes, including around 17% of cardiovascular disease and around 45% of cancer.
• Compared to the inactive participants, those who trained every week for two days had more chance of men, younger, a university diploma, non-smokers, non-drinkers, less chance of type 2 diabetes and/or to have a lower body mass index (an indication of body fat to determine healthy weight).