July 22, 2022 – People who exercise only on the weekend—or on any two days of the week—can get the same health benefits as those who spread their exercise out over several days during the week, according to a recent study.
The study followed the exercise routines of more than 350,000 U.S. adults for over a decade. Researchers found that as long as people accomplished 75 minutes of vigorous activity or 150 minutes of moderate activity per week—no matter when they did so—they had lower death rates from any cause than physically inactive participants.
In a July 17, 2022 USA Today article, Dong Hoon Lee, research associate in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a co-author of the study, noted that those who exercised regularly during the week did have slightly lower mortality risks than the “weekend warriors.” But he added, “These differences were not statistically different, so we can say that they are comparably beneficial.”
Edward Giovannucci of Harvard Chan School was also a co-author of the study.
Read the USA Today article: For your health: Be a ‘weekend warrior’ to fit in exercise you missed out on during the week