All-cause mortality risk was approximately 30% lower in active vs inactive adults, including “weekend warrior” respondents who performed the recommended amount of 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity from 1 or 2 sessions per week, insufficiently active respondents who performed less than the recommended amount from 1 or 2 sessions per week, and regularly active respondents who performed the recommended amount from 3 or more sessions per week. The results showed that the risk of dying was about 30 percent lower in weekend warriors and insufficient exercisers versus those who were inactive. “And, two bouts of vigorous-intensity exercise per week are sufficient to maintain aerobic fitness.” 
 
 Plenty of research has shown the benefits of physical activity, and the potential health hazards of an extremely sedentary lifestyle. For the current study, researchers analyzed survey data collected on 63,591 people from 1994 to 2012 to see how different exercise patterns influence the risk of death from all causes, heart disease and cancer. Results Among the 63 591 adult respondents (45.9% male; 44.1% female; mean [SD] age, 58.6 [11.9] years), 8802 deaths from all causes, 2780 deaths from CVD, and 2526 from cancer occurred during 561 159 person-years of follow-up. Researchers at Loughborough University in England used surveys by trained interviewers on nearly 64,000 adults in England and Scotland from 1994 to 2008. We excluded those who died during the first 24 months of follow-up. For cancer, the odds of dying were 14 percent lower among slightly active people, 18 percent lower for weekend warriors, and 21 percent lower for routine exercisers. Millions of people in England enjoy running, cycling, and sports participation at least once per week.23,24 Our weekend warrior participants undertook a large proportion of vigorous-intensity physical activity, and quality may be more important than quantity.25 For example, running is a popular vigorous-intensity exercise, and low doses reduce mortality risk.26 Vigorous-intensity exercise increases cardiorespiratory fitness more than the same amount of moderate-intensity exercise.27-29 Cardiorespiratory fitness may be a stronger predictor of mortality than physical activity,30-32 and, in a classic series of experiments, Hickson and colleagues33-35 showed that cardiorespiratory fitness could be maintained with 2 sessions of vigorous-intensity exercise per week. The biggest limitation is that observational studies like this can only suggest exercise and health risks may be related; they cannot prove the point. Exercise habits were also self-reported, and most participants were white, which may limit how much the results would apply to the general population. Physical activity was only assessed at baseline, and we cannot account for changes over time. Back to top Article Information 
 
 Corresponding Author: Gary O’Donovan, PhD, School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine–East Midlands, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, England (g.odonovan@lboro.ac.uk). “For people who have to condense exercise into 1-2 sessions per week but meet the guideline minimum, they will still reap a big health benefit – a 30 percent lower risk of death compared to those who do not exercise.” 
 
 SOURCE: bit.ly/2iWHf1C JAMA Internal Medicine, online January 9, 2017. “Vigorous-intensity exercise improves aerobic fitness more than the same amount of moderate-intensity exercise,” O’Donovan added by email.
– Hate having to drag yourself to the gym after work? A new JAMA study suggests people who exercise only on the weekend enjoy much of the same benefits as weekday gym-goers. Researchers at Loughborough University in the UK who reviewed data on more than 63,500 mostly white adults found those who completed the recommended weekly amount of exercise—150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of high-intensity workouts—over several days of the week had only a slightly lower risk of death from cancer and heart disease than "weekend warriors" who completed the same exercise in just one or two days, reports Quartz. Compared to participants who didn't work out at all, people who worked out multiple times a week were 35% less likely to die during the study period, while the percentage dipped to 30% for those who waited until the weekend, reports Reuters. "Quality may be more important than quantity," the study author says. A cardiology expert at the University of Pennsylvania who was not involved with the observational study tells CBS News that he finds the results "quite fascinating and a bit surprising." He says it reinforces the idea that those strapped for time should exercise when they can, even if it's just one day a week. (Music may help you get through an intense workout.)