Weekend Warriors Get Same Cardiovascular Benefit as Regular Exercisers

TUESDAY, July 18, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Physical activity concentrated within a few days is associated with a similarly lower risk for cardiovascular outcomes as more evenly distributed activity, according to a study published in the July 18 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Shaan Khurshid, M.D., M.P.H., from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues examined associations between an accelerometer-derived “weekend warrior” pattern (most moderate-to-vigorous physical activity [MVPA] achieved over one to two days) versus MVPA spread more evenly with the risk for incident cardiovascular events. The analysis included data from 89,573 individuals with accelerometer data.

The researchers found that both activity patterns were associated with similarly lower risks for incident atrial fibrillation (active weekend warrior: hazard ratio, 0.78; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.74 to 0.83; active regular: hazard ratio, 0.81; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.74 to 0.88) versus inactivity (hazard ratio, 1.00; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.94 to 1.07). Similar results were seen for myocardial infarction, heart failure, and stroke. For the median threshold of ≥230.4 minutes of MVPA per week, associations were consistent, although associations were no longer significant with stroke.

“Increased activity, even when concentrated within one to two days each week, may be effective for improving cardiovascular risk profiles,” the authors write.

One study author disclosed ties to industry.

Abstract/Full Text

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