Heart benefits of ‘weekend warrior’ physical activity similar to everyday exercise
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Key takeaways:
- Physical activity concentrated within 1 to 2 days is associated with CV benefits similar to more evenly distributed activity.
- Increased activity limited to 1 to 2 days per week may still benefit CV health.
People who concentrate physical activity into 1 to 2 days per week — so-called “weekend warriors” — derive CV benefits that are similar to those who spread exercise activity more evenly throughout the week, researchers reported.
In an analysis of nearly 90,000 people who provided 1 week of accelerometer-based physical activity data, researchers found that the weekend warrior pattern of physical activity was associated with similarly lower risks for incident atrial fibrillation, MI, HF and stroke compared with physical activity patterns that were more evenly distributed throughout the week.
“Our findings suggest that efforts to improve physical activity, even if concentrated within 1 to 2 days of the week, should be beneficial for cardiovascular risk,” Shaan Khurshid, MD, MPH, of the Demoulas Center for Cardiac Arrhythmias at Massachusetts General Hospital, told Healio. “It appears that it is the total volume of activity, rather than the pattern, that matters most.”
In a retrospective study, Khurshid and colleagues analyzed data from 89,573 adults who participated in the UK Biobank cohort study and provided a full week of accelerometer-based physical activity data from June 8, 2013, to Dec. 30, 2015. The mean age of participants was 62 years; 56% were women. The researchers compared three moderate to vigorous physical activity patterns: active weekend warrior ( 150 minutes with 50% of total moderate to vigorous physical activity achieved in 1 to 2 days), active regular ( 150 minutes and not meeting active weekend warrior status) and inactive (< 150 minutes). Researchers then assessed the same patterns using the sample median threshold of 230.4 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week. The main outcome was the associations between activity pattern and incident AF, MI, HF and stroke.
The findings were published in JAMA.
When stratified at the threshold of 150 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week, there were 42.2% of participants in the weekend warrior group, 24% in the active regular group and 33.7% in the inactive group.
Compared with inactive adults, researchers found that both the weekend warrior and active regular activity patterns were associated with similarly lower risks for incident AF, with HRs of 0.78 for weekend warriors (95% CI, 0.74-0.83) and 0.81 for active regular (95% CI, 0.74-0.88). Researchers also observed lower risk for MI, with HRs of 0.73 for weekend warriors (95% CI, 0.67-0.8) and 0.65 for active regular (95% CI, 0.57-0.74); HF, with HRs of 0.62 for weekend warriors (95% CI, 0.56-0.68) and 0.64 for active regular (95% CI, 0.56-0.73); and stroke, with HRs of 0.79 for weekend warriors (95% CI, 0.71-0.88) and 0.83 for active regular (95% CI, 0.72-0.97).
Findings were consistent at the median threshold of 230.4 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week; however, the associations with stroke were no longer significant, according to the researchers.
The researchers cautioned that activity was measured over 1 week and that participants may have modified their behavior during observation. Additionally, moderate to vigorous physical activity classification may vary by activity type.
“We are planning to assess whether weekend warrior type activity has similar benefits on other diseases across the spectrum of human conditions,” Khurshid told Healio. “Our results may also motivate future studies of physical activity interventions delivered in a concentrated fashion, which may be more practical and efficient.”
For more information:
Shaan Khurshid, MD, MPH, can be reached at skhurshid@mgb.org; Twitter: @shaan_khurshid.
Perspective
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Exercise is good no matter what form it comes in. If you look at the study data comparing “weekend warrior” vs. “regularly active” vs. “inactive,” what you see is totally different populations. Both of the active groups are much healthier at baseline than the inactive group. It should not be a surprise that people who are healthier at baseline have a much lower risk for CVD irrespective of their exercise strategy. The people who are less physically active or who are not physically active overall have higher BP, are more likely to have overweight and are more likely to have a lower self-perception of what their health status is like. Both exercise groups feel better about their health; their BP is lower.
Overall, if physical activity happens on weekends only because that is what a person’s schedule allows for, there is nothing wrong with doing it that way.
This study is a bit limited in the conclusions one can draw because they were not following participants’ exercise patterns for long periods of time. Researchers evaluated the participants for 7 days with an accelerometer. This is taking tens of thousands of people, following them for 1 week of exercise, and then monitoring health outcomes for much longer than that. There is a limit to how transferable this is to everyone.
Getting people active in any way that works with their schedule and that works with their life is important. We should not let “perfect” daily recommendations dictate what we tell our patients. I work with every person as an individual to try and encourage them to develop overall healthier habits.
For people with overweight or obesity, the most important thing is to start moving. It does not need to be high-intensity movement. Going from nothing to a little bit has the biggest magnitude of benefit for any type of change in exercise. For people with overweight who are older or concerned about the injury risk of exercise, the best thing you can do is walk and get active. Doing something will make a big impact on your health.
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