A team of researchers has discovered that even if you only have time to exercise once or twice a week, you can still reap the same benefits as those who exercise more frequently, specifically as regards weight loss, provided you meet certain minimums for duration and intensity.

Guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO), and most governments besides, recommend that adults perform at least 150 minutes per week of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous physical activity.

Plenty of people want to meet this level of exercise but find it difficult to do so because of the fast-paced and time-consuming lives many of us lead.

The study, published in the journal Obesity, found that people labeled ‘weekend warriors'—in other words, those who condense their exercise into just Saturday and/or Sunday—can lose the same amount of weight as those who exercise every day, as long as they meet the recommendations set out by the WHO.

The research team believes their findings will be especially welcomed by people whose jobs mean they sit for most of the day, such as taxi and bus drivers or office workers.

"The weekend warrior pattern is worth promoting in individuals who cannot meet the recommended frequency in current guidelines," said corresponding author Lihua Zhang, a healthcare scientist at Fuwai Hospital and professor at Peking Union Medical College in Beijing, China.

"These people are struggling to catch up in their exercise plans in daily life to offset the hazard of a sedentary lifestyle but have less free time to get to the gym. Our study could offer them an alternative choice to keep fit."

Researchers gathered data from more than 9,600 participants, aged between 20 and 59 years old, who took part in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2011 and 2018.

The team assessed the participants' abdominal and general body fat using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry—a non-invasive body composition scan—and via other measurements such as BMI.

Next, they analyzed how these correlated with physical activity levels, using data from three groups: inactive, ‘weekend warriors,' and regularly active.

Results showed that the ‘weekend warriors' and the regularly active participants had lower abdominal and body fat, smaller waist circumferences, and lower BMIs.

"The main takeaway is that people should be active in any manner that suits their lifestyle," said Dr. Beverly Tchang, Assistant Professor at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York. "All types of exercise are welcome, whether that be running, hiking, cycling, climbing, or other options."

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