Key points from article :
People who fit an entire week’s exercise into a couple of days have a similarly low risk of heart disease and stroke.
“It is the total volume of activity, rather than the pattern, that matters most,” - Patrick Ellinor, co-author of the study.
Researchers analyzed medical records for nearly 90,000 people enrolled in the UK Biobank project.
All wore wrist-mounted accelerometers that recorded their physical activity for a full week.
A third of the participants were inactive, 42% were classed as active weekend warriors (at least 150 minutes mostly over one or two days), and nearly a quarter spread their exercise out (at least 150 minutes over several days).
Both concentrated and spread-out exercise were associated with lower cardiovascular health risks compared with inactivity.
Risk of heart attack was 27% lower for weekend warriors and 35% lower for those who spread their exercise over the week.
Risk of heart failure was 38% and 36% lower for weekend warriors and more regular exercisers, respectively.
Risk of atrial fibrillation – abnormal heart rhythm – was 22% and 19% lower. For stroke, it was 21% and 17% lower.
“Our results may also motivate future studies of physical activity interventions delivered in a concentrated fashion, which may be more practical and efficient,” said Ellinor.
Study by Massachusetts general hospital, published in the journal JAMA.
