Brief Intermittent Exercise Reduces Heart Disease and Death Risk

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Brief Intermittent Exercise Reduces Heart Disease and Death Risk

Brief Intermittent Exercise Reduces Heart Disease and Death Risk

Fragmented Exercise is Highly Beneficial! Just 10 Minutes a Day Dramatically Reduces the Risk of Heart Disease and Death.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death globally and also the leading cause of death in China. According to the World Health Organization, nearly 18 million people die from cardiovascular diseases each year, accounting for over 30% of total global deaths. The high mortality and morbidity rates of cardiovascular diseases are urgent global public health issues that need to be addressed.

Moderate-to-vigorous-intensity intermittent lifestyle physical activity (MV-ILPA) involves moderate and vigorous intensity exercise performed intermittently, lasting 1-2 minutes each time. It refers to short bursts of vigorous physical activity in daily life, such as running to catch a bus, climbing stairs, or sprinting to avoid being late for work.

Researchers from the University of Sydney in Australia and the University of Oxford in the UK published a study titled “Brief bouts of device-measured intermittent lifestyle physical activity and its association with major adverse cardiovascular events and mortality in people who do not exercise: a prospective cohort study” in the journal “The Lancet Public Health.”

The study found that just 5-10 minutes of MV-ILPA per day can dramatically reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality. Compared to those who engaged in less than 1 minute of MV-ILPA per session, individuals who engaged in 5-10 minutes per session had a 52% lower risk of all-cause mortality and a 41% lower risk of major adverse cardiovascular events.

Brief Intermittent Exercise Reduces Heart Disease and Death Risk

In this study, researchers analyzed data from 25,241 participants aged 42-78 years from the UK Biobank database. The participants’ exercise parameters were recorded by wearing accelerometers, and the duration of MV-ILPA was categorized as less than 1 minute, 1-3 minutes, 3-5 minutes, and 5-10 minutes. The relationship between moderate-to-vigorous-intensity intermittent physical activity and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and all-cause mortality was analyzed.

During the 8-year follow-up period, a total of 824 major adverse cardiovascular events and 1111 deaths were recorded. Among all participants, the average daily MV-ILPA time was 26.8 minutes. 59.7% of individuals engaged in less than 1 minute per session, 27.5% engaged in 1-3 minutes per session, 5.7% engaged in 3-5 minutes per session, and 4.4% engaged in 5-10 minutes per session.

The analysis revealed that the 5-year risk of death was 4.28% for individuals engaging in less than 1 minute per session, 2.83% for those engaging in 1-3 minutes per session, 2.43% for those engaging in 3-5 minutes per session, and 2.09% for those engaging in 5-10 minutes per session.

Additionally, the 5-year risk of major adverse cardiovascular events was 3.5% for individuals engaging in less than 1 minute per session, 2.27% for those engaging in 1-3 minutes per session, 2.07% for those engaging in 3-5 minutes per session, and 2.06% for those engaging in 5-10 minutes per session.

The study found that compared to individuals engaging in less than 1 minute per session, those engaging in 1-3 minutes per session had a 34% lower risk of death, those engaging in 3-5 minutes per session had a 44% lower risk of death, and those engaging in 5-10 minutes per session had a 52% lower risk of death.

For major adverse cardiovascular events, compared to individuals engaging in less than 1 minute per session, those engaging in 1-3 minutes per session had a 29% lower risk, those engaging in 3-5 minutes per session had a 38% lower risk, and those engaging in 5-10 minutes per session had a 41% lower risk.

Furthermore, the researchers found that among individuals engaging in less than 1 minute per session, when high-intensity exercise accounted for at least 15% of the total MV-ILPA duration, even less than 1 minute of exercise per session could be beneficial, reducing the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality.

The researchers stated that this study demonstrates that moderate-to-vigorous-intensity intermittent physical activity can reduce the risk of major heart events. Ideally, each exercise session should be sustained for 3-5 minutes to significantly reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality.

However, the researchers emphasized that this is an observational study and cannot establish causality. The message here is that any type of exercise is beneficial to health, but the more effort and duration you put in, the more benefits you will gain.

In conclusion, the results suggest that engaging in 5-10 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous-intensity intermittent physical activity per day can dramatically reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality.