Physical Activity Reduces Risk of Death From Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease

In contrast with current guidelines, non-conventional physical activity patterns reduce all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer mortality, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.¹

According to World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, people between 18 and 64 years old should exercise for about 225 minutes per week, including 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise. For this surveillance-based study, researchers evaluated data from 63,591 respondents to determine in particular whether an intense 1-2 session per week workout regime (the “weekend warrior” regime) is sufficient to reduce all-cause-, CVD-, and cancer-related mortality.

All participants were at aged at least 40 years; the mean age was 58.6 years; more than 90% of participants were Caucasian. The respondents were placed in 1 of 4 groups: 39,947 as “inactive,” 14,224 as “insufficiently active,” 2341 as “weekend warriors,” and 7079 as “regularly active.”

Adjusting for age, sex, smoking status, occupation, and long-standing illness, the authors found, compared to inactive participants, the following mortality hazard ratios: Insufficiently active participants: all-cause: 0.69; CVD: 0.63; cancer: 0.86; Weekend warriors: all cause: 0.70; CVD: 0.60; cancer: 0.82; Regularly active participants: all cause: 0.65; CVD: 0.59; cancer: 0.79.

These results show, according to the study’s authors, that “different leisure time physical activity patterns”—including the “weekend warrior regime—may reduce one’s all-cause-, CVD-, and cancer-related risk of mortality. 

Reference

1. O’Donovan G, Lee IM, Hamer M, Stamatakis E. Association of “weekend warrior” and other leisure time activity patterns with risks for all-cause, cardiovascular disease, and cancer mortality. JAMA Intern Med. 2017 Jan 9. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.8014 [Epub ahead of print]