Does a ‘weekend warrior’ physical activity pattern prevent cardiovascular disease?

Editor's Note

This study by researches at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, examines whether moderate to vigorous physical activity concentrated in 1 to 2 days of the week (ie, a “weekend warrior” pattern) confers similar cardiovascular benefits as more evenly distributed physical activity.

Physical activity data from 89,573 individuals was analyzed, with a median follow-up time of 6.3 years..

In multivariable-adjusted analysis, both physical activity patterns were associated with similarly lower risks of atrial fibrillation, myocardial infarction, and heart failure at both guideline-based (150 minutes or more) and median (230.4 minutes or more) thresholds. Stroke associations also were similar, though significant only at the guideline-based threshold.

The researchers concluded that physical activity concentrated in 1 to 2 days was associated with similarly lower risks of cardiovascular outcomes as more regular activity.