According to new findings released today in European Heart Journal, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology, doing three, two-minute bouts of strenuous activity each week is related with a lower risk of death (ESC). Another study from today’s issue of EHJ shows that within the same range of total physical activity, higher intensities are associated with lower risks of cardiovascular disease.
Participants were drawn from the UK Biobank, which consists of adults aged 40 to 69. The activity tracker was worn around the wrist of each participant for seven days straight. This is a scientific method of gauging movement, especially irregular activity of varying intensities that occurs throughout the day.
71,893 healthy adults were included in the first trial. The median age was 62, and over 56% of the population was female. In this study, researchers tracked both the average weekly intensity of physical activity and the number of sessions lasting two minutes or less. On average, researchers followed up with participants for 6.9 years.
Researchers analyzed the links between high volumes and regularities of vigorous activity and death, as well as the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and cancer, after removing the first year of life.
Benefits were found even with modest increases in intensity and duration of physical activity, lowering the risk of all five unfavorable outcomes. For instance, after five years, the mortality rate for people who did no strenuous physical activity was 4%. The risk was cut in half for those who engaged in strenuous activity for at least 60 minutes per week, compared to those who spent less than 10 minutes per week doing so.
Twelve minutes of strenuous movement per week was associated with a 17% reduced risk of cancer and an 18% reduced risk of death compared to just two minutes of activity per week. Vigorous exercise led to much bigger improvements. There was a 36% reduction in the probability of dying from any cause for those who exercised for about 53 minutes each week.
Short bursts of strenuous movement four times a day resulted in a 27% reduction in mortality risk. Even at lower frequencies, health advantages were seen: 10 short episodes per week were linked to 16% and 17% decreased odds of cardiovascular disease and cancer, correspondingly.
