Vigorous physical activity, incident heart disease, and cancer: how little is enough?
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Prospective cohort study with objective device-based exposure measurement
PubMed 36302460 · doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehac572
What was done
This prospective cohort study analyzed 71,893 adults from the UK Biobank (median age 62.5 years, 55.9% female) who wore wrist accelerometers to objectively measure vigorous physical activity (VPA) volume (minutes/week) and frequency of short bouts (≤2 minutes). Researchers evaluated dose-response relationships between VPA and all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer mortality, as well as CVD and cancer incidence, over a mean follow-up of 5.9 years after excluding events in the first year.
What was found
Adjusted 5-year absolute mortality risk dropped from 4.17% (95% CI: 3.19% to 5.13%) with no VPA to 2.12% for >0 to <10 min/week, 1.78% for 10 to <30 min/week, 1.47% for 30 to <60 min/week, and 1.10% (0.84% to 1.36%) for ≥60 min/week. The optimal dose was 53.6 min/week (HR: 0.64, 95% CI: 0.54 to 0.77) compared to the 5th percentile reference (2.2 min/week). A minimal dose of ~15 min/week was associated with lower all-cause (HR: 0.82, 95% CI: 0.75 to 0.89) and cancer mortality (HR: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.74 to 0.95), while 19.2 min/week was associated with reduced CVD mortality (HR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.50 to 0.72). For frequency, 27 bouts/week was associated with the lowest all-cause mortality (HR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.62 to 0.87).
Why it matters
This study provides wearable-derived evidence that health benefits can be achieved with as little as 15 to 20 minutes per week of vigorous activity, especially when accumulated in short bouts of 2 minutes or less.
Limits
The observational design cannot establish causality or eliminate residual confounding and reverse causality. Accelerometry was assessed at a single time point and may not reflect activity changes over the 5.9-year follow-up. The UK Biobank population exhibits a healthy volunteer bias and lacks broad demographic diversity.
Cited by
- supports Doing 30 to 40 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity physical activity is associated with an approximate 50% reduction in disease outcomes such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.