Transform Your Health In Two Days: Weekend Workouts Can Be Just As Effective As Working Out All Week – SciTechDaily

A recent study indicates that “weekend warrior” exercise patterns, which concentrate physical activity on one or two days per week, offer similar heart health benefits to exercise spread more evenly throughout the week. Both active groups showed lower risks of heart-related disease compared to inactive individuals.

Compared with inactivity, both the weekend warrior and a more evenly distributed pattern of physical activity were associated with similarly lower risks of heart attack, heart failure, atrial fibrillation (an abnormal heart rhythm), and stroke.

People who find it difficult to make time for exercise during a busy work week may choose to focus their moderate to vigorous physical activity on one or two days of the week, usually on weekends.

In a recent study conducted by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and published in JAMAThis “weekend warrior” pattern was associated with a similar reduction in heart disease and stroke risks compared to more evenly distributed exercise throughout the week.

Current guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week for overall health. However, it is uncertain whether this concentrated form of exercise provides the same benefits as spreading activity more evenly throughout the week.

The largest study on the subject

“Our analysis represents the largest study to address this question,” said lead author Shaan Khurshid, MD, MPH, a faculty member in the Demoulas Center for Cardiac Arrhythmias at MGH.

Khurshid and colleagues analyzed data from 89,573 individuals from the prospective UK Biobank study. The study participants wore wrist accelerometers that recorded their total physical activity and the time they spent at different intensities over a full week.

Activity patterns and heart health

The participants fell into three categories: 33.7% were inactive (less than 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week), 42.2% were active weekend warriors (at least 150 minutes, at least half of which were achieved in 1-2 days) ). ), and 24.0% were regular active users (at least 150 minutes, with most exercise spread over several days).

After adjusting for possible confounding factors, both active groups showed similar lower risks of heart attack (27% and 35% lower risks, respectively, for active weekend warriors and active regulars compared to the inactive group), heart failure (38% and 36%). % lower risk), atrial fibrillation (22% and 19% lower risk) and stroke (21% and 17% lower risk).

Implications and future research

“Our findings suggest that interventions to increase physical activity, even when concentrated within a day or two per week, may improve cardiovascular outcomes,” said senior author Patrick T. Ellinor, MD, PhD, acting chief of Cardiology and co-director of the Corrigan Minehan Heart Center at MGH.

The team is also considering assessing whether weekend warrior-type activity could be linked to reduced risks of a broader spectrum of diseases.

Reference: “Accelerometer-derived “Weekend Warrior” physical activity and incident cardiovascular disease” by Shaan Khurshid, MD, MPH; Mostafa A. Al-Alusi, MD; Timothy W. Churchill, MD; J. Sawala Guseh, MD and Patrick T. Ellinor, MD, PhD, July 18, 2023, JAMA.
DOI: 10.1001/jama.2023.10875

Additional co-authors are Mostafa A. Al-Alusi, MD, Timothy W. Churchill, MD, and J. Sawalla Guseh, MD.

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National Health Institutes

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. Founded in 1887, it is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The NIH conducts its own scientific research through its Intramural Research Program (IRP) and provides significant funding for biomedical research to non-NIH research facilities through its Extramural Research Program. With 27 different institutes and centers under its umbrella, the NIH covers a broad spectrum of health-related research, including specific diseases, public health, clinical research, and basic biological processes. Its mission is to search for fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and to apply that knowledge to improve health, extend life and reduce disease and disability.

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