20 February 2024 , 10:31
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Weekend warriors who exercise just once a week can still lose weight, according to a new study.
Guidelines from the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommend that adults perform at least 150 minutes per week of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous physical activity. Plenty of people want to meet this level of exercise but find it difficult to do so because of the fast-paced and time-consuming lives we all lead.
However, a team of researchers have now discovered that even if you only have time to exercise once or twice a week, you can still reap the same benefits as those who exercise more frequently. The study, published in the journal Obesity, found that people labelled 'weekend warriors' - in other words, those who condense their exercise into just Saturday and/or Sunday can lose the same amount of weight as those who exercise every day, as long as they meet the recommendations set out by the WHO.
The research team believes their findings will be especially welcomed by people whose jobs mean they sit for most of the day, such as taxi drivers, bus drivers, receptionists, and those who work in an office. Corresponding author Lihua Zhang, a healthcare scientist at Fuwai Hospital and professor at Peking Union Medical College in Beijing, China said: "The weekend warrior pattern is worth promoting in individuals who cannot meet the recommended frequency in current guidelines.
"These people are struggling to catch up in their exercise plans in daily life to offset the hazard of a sedentary lifestyle but have less free time to get to the gym. Our study could offer them an alternative choice to keep fit." Researchers gathered data from more than 9,600 participants, aged between 20 and 59 years old, who took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2011 and 2018.
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The team assessed the participants' abdominal and general body fat using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry a non-invasive body composition scan and via other measurements such as BMI. Next, they analysed how these correlated with physical activity levels using data from three groups: inactive, 'weekend warriors', and regularly active. Results showed that the 'weekend warriors' and the regularly active participants had lower abdominal and body fat, smaller waist circumferences, and lower BMIs.
These groups were also younger, had higher educational backgrounds, were more likely to be non-Hispanic White, less likely to be unemployed, and less likely to have diabetes. Dr Beverly Tchang, Assistant Professor at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, US, said: "On a high level, this study reaffirms the old adage about physical activity and health: any activity is better than no activity.
"Notably, the weekend warriors' workout was of higher intensity and longer duration, and more intensity and longer duration correlated with even lower abdominal fat. But the main takeaway is that people should be active in any manner that suits their lifestyle." Prof Zhang also shared: "All types of exercise are welcome, whether that be running, hiking, cycling, climbing, or other options."