Is It Better to Exercise Daily or on Weekends?

A new study has revealed that individuals who engage in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity one to two days of the week or weekend experience nearly equivalent benefits compared to those who adhere to daily exercise recommendations.

A recent study conducted by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has shown that individuals who struggle to find time for exercise during a busy workweek can still experience significant health benefits by concentrating their moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on one to two days of the week or the weekend.

The study, published in JAMA, compared the risks of heart disease and stroke between individuals who followed the traditional daily exercise guidelines and those who engaged in concentrated exercise sessions.

The researchers analyzed data from 89,573 participants in the UK Biobank study who wore wrist accelerometers to track their physical activity levels for an entire week.

Lead author Shaan Khurshid, MD, MPH, from the Demoulas Center for Cardiac Arrhythmias at MGH, stated that this analysis represented the “largest study” conducted on this topic.

The participants were categorized into three groups: inactive (less than 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week), active weekend warriors (achieving at least 150 minutes with the majority completed on one to two days), and active-regular (meeting the 150-minute recommendation spread out over several days).

Out of all the participants, 33.7% were classified as inactive (engaging in less than 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week), 42.2% fell into the category of active weekend warriors (accumulating at least 150 minutes of physical activity with a minimum of half achieved in 1-2 days), and 24.0% were categorized as active-regular (meeting the 150-minute recommendation with exercise distributed over several days).

After making necessary adjustments, both activity patterns demonstrated similar reductions in the risks of heart attack (27% and 35% lower risks for active weekend warriors and active-regular participants, respectively, compared to the inactive group), heart failure (38% and 36% lower risks), atrial fibrillation (22% and 19% lower risks), and stroke (21% and 17% lower risks).

The results showed that both groups, including the “active weekend warriors” (at least 150 minutes of exercise with the majority completed in 1-2 days) and the “active-regular” (at least 150 minutes with exercise spread out over several days), had similarly lower risks of heart attack, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and stroke compared to the inactive group.

Lead author Shaan Khurshid, MD, MPH, from MGH, stated that this analysis is the largest study to investigate the benefits of concentrated exercise.

Senior author Patrick T. Ellinor, MD, PhD, from MGH, emphasized that “Our findings suggest that interventions to increase physical activity, even when concentrated within a day or two each week, may improve cardiovascular outcomes.”

The researchers also plan to explore whether this “weekend warrior” type of activity is associated with reduced risks of a broader range of diseases.

Source: 10.1001/jama.2023.10875

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