- People who exercise on weekends lost the same weight as those who exercise regularly
- They had similar reductions in abdominal fat, waist circumference and BMI.
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Exercising just one or two days a week can be just as effective for losing weight as doing it every day.
‘Weekend warriors’, people who concentrate exercise on one or two sessions a week rather than doing some exercise every day, had similar reductions in abdominal fat, waist circumference and body mass index. body mass than those who went to the gym regularly.
While most studies have examined the link between exercise and weight, which is not always an accurate interpretation of health, this study is the first of its kind to look at the link between physical activity patterns and actual amount of fat in a person’s body. .
Lihua Zhang, an assistant professor at the China National Center for Cardiological Diseases and an author of the study, said: “The weekend warrior pattern is worth promoting in people who cannot meet the frequency recommended in current guidelines.”
People who exercised in one or two sessions had similar reductions in abdominal fat, waist circumference and BMI as those who exercised regularly.
World Health Organization guidelines recommend that adults get 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous physical activity.
But many find it difficult to balance this between work and family obligations.
Zhang pointed to office workers, bus drivers and other employees who have to sit for long hours during the day.
She said: ‘Such people are struggling to catch up with their exercise plan in daily life to offset the danger of a sedentary lifestyle, but have less free time to go to the gym.
“Our study could offer them an alternative option to stay fit.”
Activities such as climbing, hiking, cycling or running are all suitable for weekend warriors, he added.
The researchers used data from more than 9,600 participants in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Data from 2011 to 2018 were studied, including people between the ages of 20 and 59.
Excess fat in the abdominal region and overall excess fat throughout the body were assessed using a non-invasive and easily accessible body composition scan.
Similar to an x-ray, it provides images of adipose tissue, lean mass, and bone density.
Physical activity levels were obtained from the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire and classified as inactive, weekend warriors, and regularly active.
The results showed that 772 participants reported a “weekend warrior” exercise regimen and 3,277 reported being “regularly active.”
Among the group that only exercised one or two days a week, the workouts were harder, longer and more intense.
Compared to the 5,580 inactive participants, both the weekend warriors and regularly active groups had lower measurements of abdominal fat, waist circumference, body fat mass and BMI.
People in these two groups were younger, more likely to be non-Hispanic white, had a higher educational level, and were less likely to be unemployed or have hypertension or diabetes.
Dr. Beverly Tchang, assistant professor of clinical medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, who was not involved in the study, said, “At a high level, this study reaffirms the old saying about physical activity and health: Any activity It is better than no activity.
“Notably, the weekend warriors’ training was higher intensity and longer duration, and higher intensity and longer duration correlated with even lower abdominal fat.
“However, the main takeaway is that people should stay active in whatever way fits their lifestyle.”
The study was published in the journal Obesity.