SYDNEY, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Adding bursts of intense incidental activity in daily tasks would help reduce the risk of premature death, particularly from cardiovascular disease, according to a study involving Australian researchers.
Published in Nature Medicine on Thursday, the study led by the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Center found that three to four one-minute bouts of vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity (VILPA) every day is connected with up to 40 percent reduction in all-cause and cancer-related mortality, and up to a 49 percent reduction in death related to cardiovascular disease.
It also found the maximum of 11 bouts per day was related to a 65 percent reduction in cardiovascular death risk and a 49 percent reduction in cancer-related death risk, compared to no VILPA.
VILPA is the very short bouts of vigorous activity (up to one to two minutes) people do with gusto each day, such as running for the bus, bursts of power walking while doing errands, or playing high-energy games with the kids.
The study was based on wrist-worn tracker data from UK Biobank, a large-scale biomedical database. It measured the activity of around 25,000 "non-exercisers" participants who self-reported that they do not do any sports or exercise during leisure time.
"Our study shows similar benefits to high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can be achieved through increasing the intensity of incidental activities done as part of daily living, and the more the better," said lead author Emmanuel Stamatakis, professor of physical activity and population health at the University of Sydney.
"Upping the intensity of daily activities requires no time commitment, no preparation, no club memberships, no special skills. It simply involves stepping up the pace while walking or doing the housework with a bit more energy," he said.
The research team is also calling for physical activity guidelines and clinical advice to be updated to acknowledge "all activity counts" regardless of duration.
"The ability of wearable technology to reveal 'micropatterns' of physical activity, such as VILPA, holds huge potential for understanding the most feasible and time-efficient ways people can benefit from physical activity, no matter whether it is done for recreation or as part of daily living," Stamatakis added. ■
