No time to exercise? Now, a new two-part study out of Australia finds that excuse won’t fly anymore. The researchers found that a mere two-minute burst of intense exercise daily for 15 minutes total for the week is associated with a lower risk of death.
According to Study Finds, the second segment of the study revealed that increasing the intensity of the activity lowered the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
“The results indicate that accumulating vigorous activity in short bouts across the week can help us live longer,” said study author Matthew N. Ahmadi, a research fellow at the University of Sydney, Australia, in a news release. “Given that lack of time is the most commonly reported barrier to physical activity, accruing small amounts sporadically during the day may be a particularly attractive option for busy people.”
The study appeared in the European Heart Journal, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology. Both studies included adults ages 40 to 60. Participants wore an activity tracker on their wrist for seven consecutive days. This was an objective way to measure motion, and particularly sporadic activity of different intensities during the day.
The first study enrolled 71,893 adults without cardiovascular disease or cancer. Their median age was 62.5 years and 56% were women. The investigators analyzed the total amount of weekly physical activity and the frequency of bouts lasting two minute or less. They followed the participants for an average of 6.9 years.
Then researchers examined the association between the volume and frequency of activity with death, including all causes of death and deaths from cardiovascular disease or cancer, as well as with the incidence of cardiovascular disease and cancer after the first year of the study. The risk of all adverse events reduced as the volume and frequency of vigorous exercise increased, said the news release.
Compared with just two minutes of vigorous activity each week, 15 minutes was associated with an 18% lower risk of death and a 15% lower risk of cardiovascular disease, while 12 minutes was associated with a 17% lower risk of cancer. The researchers noted that further gains were observed with increased physical activity. For example, 53 minutes per week was associated with a 36% lower risk of death from any cause.
In addition, short intervals ─ up to two minutes ─ of vigorous activity four times a day was associated with a 27% lower risk for death. But even 10 short bouts a week led to a 16% and 17% lower risk for cardiovascular disease and cancer, respectively.
The second study analyzed 88,412 healthy men and women with an average age of 62 without cardiovascular disease. This study also found that both higher amounts and greater intensity of physical activity was linked to lower rates of cardiovascular disease. Increasing the intensity for the same volume of exercise resulted in even greater reductions. For example, a simple switch of turning a 14-minute stroll into a brisk seven-minute walk led to a 14% lower risk for cardiovascular disease.
“Our results suggest that increasing the total volume of physical activity is not the only way to reduce the likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease,” said researcher Paddy C. Dempsey of the University of Leicester and University of Cambridge, in England and the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia. “Raising the intensity was also particularly important, while increasing both was optimal. This indicates that boosting the activities you already do is good for heart health. For example, picking up the pace on your daily walk to the bus stop or completing household chores more quickly.”
Lynn C. Allison ✉
Lynn C. Allison, a Newsmax health reporter, is an award-winning medical journalist and author of more than 30 self-help books.
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