As adults, finding free time can be difficult due to various responsibilities. Many ask themselves, “I hardly have time to prepare dinner. How can I regularly fit exercise into my weekly routine?” Although the health benefits of exercise, which include a lower risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and dementia, are well known, they often seem unattainable due to work and life demands. However, a new study in Nature Aging provides promising news for those who struggle to exercise regularly during the week.
The study suggests that “weekend warriors,” who exercise mainly on weekends, may receive similar mental and brain health benefits as those who manage to exercise throughout the week. Researchers in China analyzed data from over 75,000 participants in the UK Biobank, which monitors the health of around 500,000 individuals in the UK. Over 100,000 participants used wearable activity trackers. The average age of participants in this particular study was 62. They wore wrist devices to monitor their physical activities over seven days and were categorized into three groups:
1. Inactive: Individuals not meeting the recommended 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity weekly.
2. Regularly active: Those meeting guidelines with activity spread throughout the week.
3. Weekend warriors: Those meeting guidelines by completing more than 50% of their activity in one or two days (not necessarily Saturday and Sunday).
The participants were tracked for an average of 8.4 years using GP records, hospital data, and death records to observe the onset of neurological diseases (such as dementia, stroke, and Parkinson’s disease) and psychological disorders (like depression and anxiety). The researchers adjusted for several major lifestyle and health factors that might impact outcomes, including age, gender, smoking, alcohol intake, diet, and medical history with conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and cancer.
Out of approximately 75,500 participants, 24,300 were deemed inactive, 21,200 regularly active, and 30,000 classified as weekend warriors. Compared with inactive individuals, weekend warriors had a 26% reduced risk of developing dementia, a 21% lower risk of stroke, and a 45% reduced risk of Parkinson’s disease. Their risks of depression and anxiety were 40% and 37% lower, respectively, compared to inactive participants. These figures for the weekend warriors were similar to the outcomes for those who were active regularly.
The protective benefits against depression and anxiety were consistent across different ages, both below and above 65. However, the reduced risks for dementia, stroke, and Parkinson’s were especially significant for those over 65, highlighting the great benefits of physical activity for older adults, who face higher risks for these conditions.
What if weekends aren’t available for exercise due to work, family, or other obligations? Luckily, researchers found that people can still gain similar health benefits as long as they concentrate most of their moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on any one or two days a week, even if they are not consecutive. A prior study using UK Biobank data also found that individuals who concentrate most of their physical activity over one or two days enjoy similar heart health benefits to those whose activity is spread throughout the week.
If traditional gym workouts don’t suit you, the study used activity trackers that monitored all activity types, indicating that health benefits can be achieved regardless of how moderate-to-vigorous activity is accumulated. This supports a growing body of research showing that whether through short bursts of daily activities like stair climbing, household chores, walking in the park, or longer sessions of running or gym exercises, the health benefits are available to everyone.
The researchers considered various lifestyle and health factors, although other factors might have influenced some of the findings. One limitation is that the study couldn’t determine how changes in physical activity over time might affect brain health. Previous studies have shown that even inactive adults can experience immediate health benefits by increasing their activity levels.