“Weekend warrior” training can reduce the risk of more than 200 diseases (Illustrative Image Infobae)
(HealthDay News) — There is good news for people who have trouble including the exercise regular in your busy work week.
The trainings of “weekend warrior” are as beneficial as daily exercise for a person’s overall health, according to a new study.
People who do all of the recommended weekly exercise in one or two days are almost as healthy like those who distribute their workouts more evenly throughout the week, the researchers reported in the Sept. 26 issue of the journal Circulation.
Both groups had a similarly lower risk to develop more than 200 possible diseases into 16 categories, ranging from heart and digestive conditions to mental health and brain diseases, the researchers found.
“Because there appear to be similar benefits for weekend warriors compared to regular activity, it could be the total volume of activity, rather than the pattern, which matters most,” said co-principal investigator Dr. Shaan Khurshid, a cardiologist at the Cardiac Arrhythmia Center at Massachusetts General Hospital.
One study found that the total volume of exercise is crucial, regardless of the weekly pattern (Illustrative Image Infobae)
The guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each weekthe researchers noted in supporting notes.
But how a person gets those minutes each week remains an open question. Is it better to get 20 to 30 minutes of exercise a day, or can a person pack all that physical activity into a couple of days and go longer between workouts?
For this study, the researchers analyzed data from almost 90,000 participants in it UK Biobankan ongoing health research project in the United Kingdom. The participants used wrist devices who recorded their total physical activity for a week.
The researchers classified the participants as weekend warriors, consistent or inactive exercisers, depending on whether and how they got their 150 minutes of weekly exercise.
Both weekend warrior and regular physical activity patterns were associated with risks substantially lower of 264 different diseases, compared to inactivity, the results show.
For example, regular exercise and weekend warrior were associated with a risk 23 and 28 percent lower high blood pressure, respectively, and a 43 and 46 percent lower risk of diabetes.
Both exercise groups experienced lower risks of suffering from cardiometabolic diseases (Illustrative Image Infobae)
“The results suggest that physical activity is broadly beneficial in reducing the risk of future diseases, especially cardiometabolic conditions,” Khurshid said in a hospital news release. “Patients should be encouraged to participate in physical activity that adheres to guidelines using any pattern that might work better for them.”
More information: The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has more information on physical activity guidelines.
SOURCE: Brigham Mass General, press release, September 26, 2024
*Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
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