Why short bursts of activity or ‘exercise snacks’ can help you reduce the health risks of sitting all day

Most adults in Ireland spend at least five hours a day sitting. For people with jobs that require sitting, it’s even longer. And that’s not even counting the time they spend in front of the television in the evening.

And less than half of adults in Ireland get enough exercise.

However, the International Congress on Obesity in Sao Paulo, Brazil, was told yesterday that incorporating ‘sports snacks’ – very short bursts of relatively intense activity, separated by hourly intervals – could be a way to reduce sedentary time and improve the condition.

It can also help people who are overweight and have chronic diseases who exercise regularly to get moving.

Associate Professor Bruno Gualano from the Center for Lifestyle Medicine at the University of Sao Paulo said: “Examples include stair climbing and short, intense bike rides, which have shown benefits for cardiorespiratory fitness and vascular health in several studies.

“For example, in one study of healthy men, hourly exercise snacks improved vascular health, while another study showed its feasibility and benefits for overweight or obese people.

“However, many people may have difficulty implementing exercise snacks for practical reasons, such as bus drivers or people with physical disabilities or low exercise capacity, such as the elderly.”

Current guidelines recommend 150-300 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week, but “many struggle to meet these goals,” said Prof. Gualano.

“To mitigate the negative effects of prolonged sitting, ‘exercise snacks’ have been proposed as a practical alternative. These are short, intense bursts of activity – one minute or less – that can be more time-efficient than traditional exercise regimens.”

Sports snacks can be especially helpful for people who have difficulty following a regular fitness regimen.

He added: “The potential benefits of exercise snacks include reduced sedentary time and improved metabolic health. These benefits can be achieved even with unstructured, very light activities, which don’t neatly fit into the exercise snack category.

“Indeed, more research is needed to understand the long-term effectiveness, safety and applicability of different physical activity strategies for breaking up sedentary time across different population groups.

“This strategy can potentially be applied anywhere; at home or in the office, as it does not require specific equipment or devices,” said Prof. Gualano.

According to the HSE, higher levels of sedentary behavior are linked to cardiovascular disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes.

“Replacing sedentary time, where possible, with activity, even light intensity activity… is also strongly recommended to protect health.”

“Replacing this sedentary time, where possible, with activity, even light-intensity activity, is strongly recommended to protect health,” a spokesperson said.