So much for a lazy Sunday.
“Weekend warriors” – people who cram exercise into their Saturdays and Sundays – could be at lower risk of developing 264 diseases, just like those who go to the gym during the week. According to a new study.
“Weekend warrior activity not only increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, As we have shown so faras well as a whole range of future illnesses, from conditions like chronic kidney disease to mood disorders,” said co-senior study author. Dr. Shaan Khurshid Faculty at Massachusetts General Hospital.
In the study, around 90,000 UK residents wore accelerometers on their wrists to track their physical activity and the time they spent on different intensities of exercise over a week.
Participants were divided into three groups: weekend activists, regular activists, and non-activists.
The research team looked at associations between activity patterns and the onset of 678 disorders across 16 different categories, including mental health, gastrointestinal, neurological and other conditions.
People who play sports on the weekends or go to the gym regularly have a significantly lower risk of contracting over 200 diseases compared to those who do nothing but watch TV.
The strongest associations were for cardiometabolic diseases such as high blood pressure (23% lower risk in weekend exercisers and 28% lower risk in daily exercisers) and diabetes (43% and 46% lower risk, respectively).
The results were published in the journal Neurology on Thursday. circulation.
“Our findings were consistent across different definitions of weekend activity and other criteria used to classify people as active,” Khurshid said.
He adds: “Weekend exercise and regular exercise appear to have similar benefits, so it may be the total amount of exercise, rather than the pattern, that matters most.”
According to Physical Activity Guidelines for AmericansAdults should aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and two days of strength training per week.
“150 minutes of exercise each week sounds like a lot, but you don’t have to do it all at once.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says“That could be 30 minutes a day, five days a week. You can also spread the activity out over the week and break it down into shorter periods of time.”
Aerobic exercise has been shown to have a variety of benefits, including lowering the risk of stroke, maintaining a healthy weight, strengthening bones and improving mental health.