By Nick
Lavars
July 10, 2022
Facebook
Twitter
Flipboard
LinkedIn
A new study found no significant difference in risk of early
death between those who exercise regularly throughout the week, and those who
cram it in on weekends Photo credit: Depositphotos
VIEW 1 IMAGES
According to the US government’s Physical Activity
Guidelines for Americans, adults should be aiming for at least 150 minutes of
moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise per
week. Some might meet this mark through a daily jog before breakfast, while
others might go for a long bike ride on the weekend instead. The authors of the
new study set out investigate whether these differing lifestyles had an impact
on an important benefit of exercise: namely, lowering our risk of an early
death.
Led by Mauricio dos Santos from Brazil’s Universidade
Federal de São Paulo, the research team tapped into data on 350,000 adults in
the US. These subjects self-reported their physical activity and were sorted
into different groups depending on their exercise regimes. This classified them
as physically inactive, regularly active and undertaking three or more workouts
per week, or weekend warriors who crammed their workouts into just one or two
sessions.
The subjects were followed for an average of 10 years, with
the scientists reporting almost 22,200 deaths in that time. More than 4,000
were due to cardiovascular disease, and around 6,000 from cancer. Whether they
were weekend warriors or regularly active, the authors found that those meeting
the exercise requirements benefitted from lower mortality rates, either from
specific causes or any cause.
What was most interesting, however, was that no significant
difference was observed between the weekend warriors and regularly active
participants. There are of course many other benefits to regular exercise that
include boosting our mood
and cognition, enhancing our metabolism and
lessening symptoms of anxiety,
but the research does suggest that so far as physical activity relates to our
risk of early death, making time to work up a sweat, even just on a Saturday or
Sunday, can be hugely beneficial.
The research was published in the journal Jama Internal Medicine.
Source: New Atlas