existing data from both the Health Survey for England and the Scottish Health Survey . These are householdbased surveillance studies where the participants are considered to be representative of the target populations of the countries .
Results : Approximately 63,000 adults aged 40 and older participated in this study , approximately half of which were male with an average age of 59 . With regard to groups , the majority ( 63 per cent ) were classified as Inactive at baseline , followed by 22 per cent Insufficiently Active , 11 per cent Regularly Active and only 4 per cent as Weekend Warriors .
The Weekend Warriors were on average 52 years of age , half never smoked , a third were ex-smokers and average body mass index was 27kg / m2 ( overweight ). The Inactive participants were generally older , smokers and had a higher proportion of chronic illnesses . Of the Weekend Warriors , 45 per cent exercised only one day per week , with the remaining 55 per cent exercising two days per week . The most popular mode of physical activity / exercise was walking ( brisk or fast pace ) and they spent approximately 300 minutes per week completing moderate or vigorous exercise , whereas the Regularly Active were completing approximately 450 minutes each week ( 125 minutes of vigorous intensity ). The Inactive group had the highest all-cause mortality , and risk for cardiovascular disease and cancer , while the Regularly Active had the lowest .
Conclusions : The results showed a benefit for all of the active groups , even if they were Insufficiently Active . More importantly , there now appears to be a health benefit ( i . e . reduced risk ) to Weekend Warriors who completed only one or two exercise sessions per week . The authors concluded that Weekend Warriors reduced their all-cause mortality and risk for heart disease and cancer .
Pros : This is actually the second article which has investigated the health benefits of Weekend Warriors . Lee and his colleagues completed a similar study in 2004 , but with a much smaller sample size (~ 8,000 men ). It is promising to see similar findings in the O ’ Donovan study , as it lends further credence to the benefits associated with Weekend Warrior exercise attributes . Additionally , these findings give clinicians , personal trainers and fitness enthusiasts confidence that there are health benefits associated with Weekend Warrior exercise .
Cons : As the participants were evenly distributed between genders , it would have been interesting to see if there were any differences in risk between genders .
Associate Professor Mike Climstein , PhD FASMF FACSM FAAESS is one of Australia ’ s leading Accredited Exercise Physiologists and researchers . He is director of chronic disease rehabilitation at Vale Medical Practice . mike . climstein @ sydney . edu . au
Joe Walsh , MSc is a sport and exercise scientist . As well as working for Charles Darwin and Bond Universities , he is a director of Fitness Clinic in Five Dock , Sydney . fitnessclinic . com . au
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