Short Bouts of Exercise
May Add Up to Good Health

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - If sticking to a 30-minute routine of exercising each day seems too daunting, researchers from Ireland say three 10-minute sessions, spread out over the day, yields similar health and psychological benefits.

Currently, the US surgeon general recommends adults do their best to get off the couch and exercise for about 30 minutes each day and the Institute of Medicine recently recommended at least 1 hour of exercise per day.

Since many people find it difficult to carve a 30- or 60-minute block of time out of their day, Dr. Marie Murphy and colleagues wanted to see if a series of "brisk" 10-minute activity periods could collectively have the same beneficial results as a 30-minute workout.

"Exercising in shorter time periods throughout the day could be more attractive and encourage individuals to participate more readily," said Murphy, who is with the University of Ulster in Jordanstown, Northern Ireland, in a prepared statement.

Their study included 21 sedentary men and women in their mid-40s. The volunteers participated in either a brisk 10-minute walk three times per day, or a brisk walk lasting 30 minutes once per day, 5 days a week for 6 weeks. After a 2-week rest period, the groups switched walking routines and followed the other group's instructions for another 6 weeks.

Overall, both groups saw improvements in heart disease-related factors including a slight drop in total cholesterol and boosts in "good" cholesterol and aerobic ability, the investigators found.

And, both walking patterns resulted in similar decreases in tension and anxiety, the authors report in the September issue of the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

Murphy and colleagues conclude that their study provides "further confirmation" that three bouts of 10-minute brisk-walking sessions spread out over the course of the day are at least as effective as a 30-minute session at improving blood lipid profiles and enhancing psychological well-being of sedentary middle-aged people.

SOURCE: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 2002;34:1468-1474.

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