Telha
A recent study published in the research journal Obesity reveals that individuals with busy schedules, who primarily engage in physical activity during their weekends, can achieve weight loss results comparable to those who exercise regularly throughout the week.
Researchers discovered that the key factor lies in meeting the recommended exercise guidelines, as outlined by the World Health Organization, which suggests either 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week. However, many individuals struggle to find time for daily workouts due to the demands of modern life.
Lihua Zhang, a health-care scientist and one of the study’s authors, highlights the significance of these findings for office workers and individuals with sedentary lifestyles, offering them an alternative approach to staying fit amidst their busy schedules.
The study, the first of its kind to examine the impact of physical activity patterns on objectively measured fat tissue mass, concluded that the frequency of workouts does not significantly affect weight loss outcomes.
Zhang recommends activities such as climbing, hiking, cycling, or running for weekend warriors, emphasizing their effectiveness in achieving fitness goals. The research, which analyzed data from over 9,600 participants aged 20 to 59 from 2011 to 2018, revealed that both regular exercisers and weekend warriors exhibited lower abdominal and whole-body fat, along with healthier waist circumferences and body mass indices.
Dr. Beverly Tchang, an obesity specialist and assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medicine, not involved in the study, notes that the intensity and duration of weekend warriors’ workouts often exceed those of regular exercisers, resulting in even greater reductions in abdominal fat.
