Adults engaging in moderate to vigorous physical activity primarily on one or two days per week—known as the “weekend warrior” pattern—may experience mortality risk reductions similar to those who spread activity throughout the week, according to a study.

Researchers analyzed accelerometer data from 93,409 UK Biobank participants, with a median follow-up of 8.1 years. Participants were grouped into 3 patterns: inactive, weekend warrior (at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per week with at least 50% on 1–2 days), and regularly active (same total activity, but spread across at least 3 days per week).

Compared with inactive individuals, weekend warriors had a hazard ratio (HR) for all-cause death of 0.68, while the regularly active group had an HR of 0.74. Cardiovascular disease mortality HRs were 0.69 and 0.76, respectively. For cancer mortality, the HRs were 0.79 and 0.87.

“Our findings are particularly significant for individuals who find it challenging to engage in regular physical activity due to time constraints,” said lead author Dan-Qing Liao, MD, of Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

The study used Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for a range of factors, including age, sex, body mass index, smoking status, and sedentary time. A total of 3,965 participants died during follow-up, including 667 from cardiovascular disease and 1,780 from cancer.

Subgroup and sensitivity analyses showed consistent results across demographics and activity thresholds. The authors concluded that accumulating at least 150 minutes of MVPA per week may confer survival benefits regardless of how the activity is distributed.

The authors reported no conflicts of interest.