A study led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital has found that the “weekend warrior” pattern of exercise, where individuals concentrate their moderate-to-vigorous exercise in one or two days of the week, is associated with lower risk of developing future diseases. The study, published in Circulation, found that this pattern of exercise was just as effective at decreasing risk as more evenly distributed exercise activity. Physical activity has been shown to affect the risk of many diseases, and weekend warrior activity may have benefits beyond just cardiovascular diseases, including conditions like chronic kidney disease and mood disorders.
Guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week for overall health. The researchers analyzed data from 89,573 individuals in the UK Biobank study who wore wrist accelerometers to record their physical activity patterns over one week. Participants were categorized as weekend warriors, regular exercisers, or inactive based on their levels of activity. The team then looked for associations between physical activity patterns and the incidence of 678 different conditions across 16 types of diseases, including mental health, digestive, and neurological conditions.
The study found that both weekend warrior and regular physical activity patterns were associated with substantially lower risks of over 200 diseases compared to being inactive. Strongest associations were seen for cardiometabolic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes, with lower risks of these conditions for both weekend warriors and regular exercisers. However, associations were found across all disease categories tested. The results suggest that physical activity is beneficial for lowering the risk of future diseases, particularly cardiometabolic conditions.
The findings were consistent across various definitions of weekend warrior activity, indicating that the pattern of exercise may not matter as much as the total volume of activity. The researchers believe that future interventions should explore the effectiveness of concentrated activity in improving public health, and patients should be encouraged to engage in guideline-adherent physical activity using any pattern that works best for them. The study highlights the broad benefits of physical activity in reducing the risk of various diseases and supports the idea that some exercise is better than none, regardless of the pattern or frequency.
Overall, the study suggests that engaging in weekend warrior activity or regular exercise can provide significant health benefits and lower the risk of developing a wide range of diseases. Both patterns of physical activity were associated with lower risks of over 200 diseases compared to being inactive. The researchers emphasize the importance of meeting the guidelines for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and encourage individuals to find an exercise pattern that works best for them in order to improve their overall health and reduce the risk of future diseases.