These quick activities performed throughout the day have a dramatic effect on the risk of dying from any cause.
Non-exercisers — by doing four one-minute bursts of activity — could lower their odds of dying prematurely from any cause.
Vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity (VILPA) is a high intensity activity done in a very short period of time (one or two minutes long).
Power walking to get to work, running for the bus, active playing with children and stair climbing are all examples of VILPA ingrained in daily life.
Three to four one-minute sessions of VILPA each day is linked to an almost 50 percent reduced chance of dying from cardiovascular disease and 40 percent reduced chance of dying from any cause including cancer, a study reveals.
Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis, the study’s first author, said:
“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.
A few very short bouts totalling three to four minutes a day could go a long way, and there are many daily activities that can be tweaked to raise your heart rate for a minute or so.”
Most people aged 40 or older do not exercise or play sports regularly, but this study shows how incidental physical activity can improve adults’ health.
Professor Stamatakis said:
“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.”
For this study, the physical activity of over 25,000 non-exercisers was measured using wrist-worn accelerometer data.
The study’s key findings:
- About 11 percent of non-exercisers didn’t do any VILPA.
- VILPA bouts mostly lasted up to 1 or 2 minutes.
- Most participant did eight VILPA bouts every day.
Those who did more VILPA bouts were healthier than the others.
The odds of dying form cardiovascular disease and cancer was lower by 65 percent and 49 percent respectively among subjects who did 11 bouts a day compared with those with zero VILPA.
This was comparable to those who exercised regularly, suggesting that vigorous activity — whether it is done as housework or as part of daily life — can cut the risk as much as gym-based exercise or sport.
Professor Stamatakis said:
“Our previous knowledge about the health benefits of vigorous physical activity comes from questionnaire-based studies, but questionnaires cannot measure short bouts of any intensity.
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.”
The study was published in the journal Nature Medicine (Stamatakis et al., 2022).
