A new study has found that people who condense their exercise into one or two days a week, known as “weekend warriors,” can also lose weight in a similar way to those who exercise regularly. The study, which will be published in the journal “Obesity” in April, is the first of its kind to examine the association between physical activity patterns and objectively measured fat tissue mass.
The study, conducted by researchers at Fuwai Hospital, the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union College of Medicine, suggests that whether you exercise regularly or one or two days a week, both options produce weight loss as long as the recommended level of physical activity is reached.
The researchers collected data from more than 9,600 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2011 to 2018, assessing abdominal and overall adiposity using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and anthropometric measurements. The study found that both the “weekend warriors” and “regularly active” groups had lower levels of abdominal adiposity, waist circumference, total body fat mass, and body mass index compared to the “inactive” participants.
The findings suggest that promoting the “weekend warrior” pattern may be beneficial for individuals who struggle to meet the frequency recommended in current physical activity guidelines. Lihua Zhang, a healthcare scientist involved in the study, noted that office workers, bus drivers, and others who have to sit for long hours during their workday may benefit from this alternative option to stay fit, as they have less free time to go to the gym.
The study’s results highlight the importance of staying active in whatever way fits an individual’s lifestyle, and that any activity is better than no activity. This study adds to the existing research showing the benefits of physical activity and suggests that “weekend warriors” can achieve weight loss and improved health outcomes.