The Health Benefits for Weekend Warriors

Exercise in one or two weekly sessions may lower risk of death

(RxWiki News) Cramming the recommended amount of weekly physical activity into one or two sessions may still lower your risk of death, according to a new study.

Although this new study found evidence that regular exercise likely provides even more benefits, weekend warriors may still see a lowered risk of death from all causes, heart disease and cancer.

Weekend warriors complete the recommended amount of 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity in one or two sessions per week.

In fact, compared to adults who didn't exercise, weekend warrior exercisers were 30 percent less likely to die from any cause. They also had a 40 percent lower chance of dying from heart disease and an 18 percent lower chance of dying from cancer.

This study looked at survey responses from 63,591 English and Scottish adults from 1994 to 2012. Because most of the participants were white and exercise levels were self-reported, this study may be limited.

Talk to your doctor about how to safely increase your physical activity levels.

This study was published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Information on funding sources and potential conflicts of interest was not available at the time of publication.