Why ‘exercise snacks’ may be good for your health

London (PA Media/dpa) – Taking “exercise snacks” throughout the day can boost people’s health and make them fitter, researchers say. Bursts of activity, lasting just a few minutes, increase respiratory fitness and could be ideal for people who lack time and or suffer low motivation, according to experts. Engaging in as little as 10 to 59 minutes of activity per week has also been associated with an 18% reduction in premature death from any cause. Most adults do not meet recommended exercise guidelines of 150 to 300 minutes per week of moderate activity, or 75 to 150 minutes a week of vigorous activity. Now, researchers writing in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, say there is collective evidence that exercise spread throughout the day has health benefits. “Exercise snacks are intentionally structured, short duration bouts of physical activity, such as stair climbing or body weight exercises, that are deliberately incorporated into daily routines,” said the team, including from the University of Oviedo, Spain, and the Danish Centre for Motivation and Behaviour Science. “Snacktivity encourages the accumulation of short physical activity bouts (two to five minutes) to achieve recommended weekly activity targets.” The researchers assessed 11 randomised controlled trials involving 414 inactive people, 69% of whom were women. Exercise snacks were defined as structured bouts lasting less than five minutes, performed at least twice daily and for at least three days every week. Pooling the results showed that exercise snacks significantly improved cardiorespiratory fitness in adults and there was limited evidence they improved muscular endurance in older adults. While the snacks were not shown to alter body composition, blood pressure or cholesterol levels, they were still regarded as beneficial. The team said people were also very likely to stick with short bursts of activity rather than starting longer training sessions and then giving up. They added: “Achieving even half of the recommended weekly physical activity volume (150–300min/week of moderate or 75–150min/week of vigorous intensity activity) confers significant mental health benefits, including an 18% lower risk of depression. “These findings highlight the potential of low volume, accessible physical activity strategies to produce significant health benefits, particularly among physically inactive adults.” The researchers said the “time efficient nature of exercise snacks” may help people who think they are too busy to exercise. “Exercise snacks may enhance adherence to regular physical activity by providing short, flexible exercise bouts that are easier to integrate into daily routines.” Known examples of moderate activity include very brisk walking, heavy cleaning such as washing windows or mopping, cycling or badminton. Vigorous activity includes hiking, jogging, shovelling, fast cycling, basketball or tennis. The following information is not intended for publication pa dpa coh

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