Weekend warriors rejoice! A new study has found that packing all of your weekly exercise into one or two days can still lead to weight loss. This is good news for individuals who struggle to fit physical activity into their daily routine, such as office workers or bus drivers.
The current exercise guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week. However, the new study suggests that condensing this activity into one or two days can still have significant health benefits.
The research, published in Obesity magazine, analyzed data from over 9,600 participants and found that those who followed a weekend warrior exercise pattern had less abdominal fat, waist circumference, body fat mass, and body mass index compared to those who were inactive. This suggests that high-intensity and longer duration exercise correlated with even lower abdominal fat.
Study author Lihua Zhang, a researcher at the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases in Beijing, noted that the weekend warrior approach could be an alternative option for individuals who cannot meet the frequency recommended in current guidelines. This could be particularly beneficial for individuals who have difficulty catching up on their exercise plan in daily life due to a sedentary lifestyle.
Dr. Beverly Tchang, an endocrinologist at Weill Cornell Medicine, emphasized that the main takeaway from the study is that people should be active in whatever way suits their lifestyle.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides more information on physical activity guidelines for Americans. The study was published in the February 20, 2024 press release from The Obesity Society.