Short bursts of vigorous activity associated with longer life

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Two-minute bursts of vigorous activity totaling just 15 minutes per week are linked to longer lifespans, new research finds.

Two-minute bursts of vigorous activity totaling 15 minutes per week are associated with a reduced risk of death.

Vigorous bursts of activity, lasting two minutes each and totaling just 15 minutes per week, are associated with a reduced risk of death. This is according to new research published on October 27 in European Heart Journal, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).[1]

“The results suggest that accumulating vigorous activity in brief bouts over the week may help us live longer,” said study author Dr. Matthew N. Ahmadi from the University of Sydney, Australia. “Given that lack of time is the most commonly cited barrier to regular physical activity, accumulating small amounts sporadically throughout the day can be a particularly appealing option for busy people.”

A second study found that for a given amount of physical activity, an increase in intensity was associated with a reduced likelihood of cardiovascular disease. This study was also published on October 27 in the European Heart Journal.[2] “Our study shows that not only the amount of activity, but also the intensity is important for cardiovascular health,” said study author Dr. Paddy C. Dempsey from the University of Leicester and the University of Cambridge, UK and The Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia.

Both studies included adults aged 40 to 69 years from the UK Biobank, a large biomedical database and research resource. Participants wore an activity tracker on their wrists for seven consecutive days. This is an objective method of measuring activity and is particularly well suited to measuring sporadic activities of varying intensities throughout the day.

“Our study shows that not only the amount of activity, but also the intensity is important for cardiovascular health.” — dr Paddy C Dempsey

71,893 adults without cardiovascular disease or cancer were enrolled in the first study. The participants had a mean age of 62.5 years and 56% were women. The researchers measured the total amount of weekly vigorous activity and the frequency of seizures that lasted two minutes or less. Participants were followed for an average of 6.9 years. After excluding events that occurred in the first year, the researchers analyzed the associations of volume and frequency of vigorous activity with death (all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer) and the occurrence of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

The risk of all five adverse effects decreased with increasing amount and frequency of intense activity, with benefits seen even at low levels. For example, participants without intense activity had a 4% risk of dying within five years. The risk was halved to 2% for less than 10 minutes of vigorous activity per week and dropped to 1% for 60 minutes or more.

Compared to just two minutes of vigorous activity per week, 15 minutes was associated with an 18% reduced risk of death and a 15% reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, while 12 minutes was associated with a 17% reduced risk of cancer. Further gains were observed with larger amounts of vigorous activity. For example, about 53 minutes a week was associated with a 36% reduced risk of death from any cause.

In terms of frequency, bursting into short bouts (up to two minutes) of intense activity an average of four times a day was associated with a 27% lower risk of death. But the health benefits were observed even less frequently: 10 short seizures per week were associated with a 16% and 17% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer, respectively.

The second study included 88,412 adults without cardiovascular disease. The mean age was 62 years and 58% were women. The researchers estimated the volume and intensity of physical activity and then analyzed its associations with cardiovascular disease (ischemic heart disease or cerebrovascular disease). Participants were followed for a median of 6.8 years.

The researchers found that both higher amounts and higher intensity were associated with lower rates of cardiovascular disease. Increasing intensity resulted in greater reductions in cardiovascular disease for the same volume of exercise. For example, cardiovascular disease rates were 14% lower when moderate-to-vigorous activity accounted for 20% of activity instead of 10%, which is equivalent to turning a 14-minute walk into a brisk seven-minute walk.

dr Dempsey said: “Our results suggest that increasing total volume of physical activity is not the only way to reduce the likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease. Increasing the intensity was also particularly important; increasing both was ideal. This indicates that increasing the intensity of activities you are already doing is good for heart health. For example, speeding up the daily trip to the bus stop or doing the household chores faster.”

References:

  1. “Strenuous Physical Activity, Emerging Heart Disease, and Cancer: How Little Is Enough?” by Matthew N. Ahmadi, Philip J. Clare, Peter T. Katzmarzyk, Borja del Pozo Cruz, I-Min Lee, and Emmanuel Stamatakis, October 27, 2022 European Heart Journal.
    DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehac572
  2. “Physical Activity Volume, Intensity and Incident Cardiovascular Disease” by Paddy C Dempsey, Alex V Rowlands, Tessa Strain, Francesco Zaccardi, Nathan Dawkins, Cameron Razieh, Melanie J Davies, Kamlesh K Khunti, Charlotte L Edwardson, Katrien Wijndaele, Soren Brage and Tom Yates, October 27, 2022, European Heart Journal.
    DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehac613
  3. “The Hare and the Tortoise: Physical Activity Intensity and Scientific Translation” by Charles E. Matthews and Pedro F. Saint-Maurice, October 27, 2022, European Heart Journal.
    DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehac626

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