The World Health Organization recommend that adults accumulate 150 minutes or more per week, of moderate-tovigorous physical activity, and Canadian researchers find that achieving a total of 150 weekly minutes of exercise, regardless of how often the activity was conducted, is key in minimizing risk factors for diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
Ian Janssen, from Queens University (Canada), and colleagues studied 2,324 adults from across Canada, with subjects wearing accelerometers on their waists. The team determined that adults who accumulated 150 minutes of exercise on a few days of the week were not any less healthy than adults who exercised more frequently throughout the week. The study authors conclude that: “The frequency of physical activity throughout the week was not independently associated with the [Metabolic Syndrome] among active adults. Conversely, the weekly volume of [moderate-to-vigorous physical activity] was strongly associated with the [Metabolic Syndrome].”
References:
- [Janine Clarke, Ian Janssen. “Is the frequency of weekly moderateto- vigorous physical activity associated with the metabolic syndrome in Canadian adults?” Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 2013, 38(7): 773–8.
