But a new study offers some good news for people who struggle to fit regular exercise into their weekday schedules, finding that “weekend warriors” who get most of their exercise on the weekend may get the same mental health benefits as those who exercise regularly throughout the week.
In the study, the research team from China analyzed data from more than 75,000 people from the UK Biobank.
Participants provided data from wrist-worn devices that tracked their physical activity patterns over 7 days. They were then classified into 3 groups:
– Low activity: People who do not achieve the recommended 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week.
– Regular activity: Those who follow the guidelines with activity throughout the week.
– Intense weekend activity: People who follow the guidelines by doing more than 50% of their activity over one to two days (weekend warriors).
The researchers followed the participants for an average of 8.4 years. They also used GP records, hospitalization data and death records to track the onset of neurological diseases (dementia, stroke and Parkinson’s disease) as well as psychiatric disorders (including depression and anxiety).
They took into account lifestyle and health factors that could influence these results, including age, sex, smoking status, alcohol consumption, diet, and history of diseases, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer.
About 24,300 of the total participants were classified as inactive, 21,200 as regularly active, and 30,000 as “weekend warriors.”
The results showed that the “weekend warriors” had a 26% lower risk of dementia, a 21% lower risk of stroke, and a 45% lower risk of Parkinson’s disease. They also had a 40% and 37% lower risk of depression and anxiety, respectively, compared to the inactive group.
The lower risks of dementia, stroke and Parkinson’s disease were particularly evident in people over 65. This finding reflects the significant benefits of physical activity for older adults.
In a previous study, researchers found that people who do most of their exercise over one or two days of the week see similar heart health benefits as those who get regular physical activity throughout the week.
The findings add to a large body of evidence supporting the brain health and overall health benefits of moderate to vigorous physical activity.
The study was published in the journal Nature Aging.
Source: Medical Express
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2024-08-27 15:45:05
