Getting regular exercise is known to benefit people with diabetes, but a new study suggests that how often you exercise may be less important than making sure you meet the weekly activity goal.
In other words, even if you only work out on the weekend, it can still protect your health.
A team of researchers from top institutions like the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Boston University analyzed data from over 51,000 adults with diabetes who took part in a national health survey between 1997 and 2018.
These adults reported their own levels of physical activity. The researchers wanted to know whether different patterns of activity made a difference in how long people lived and whether they died from heart disease or cancer.
Current health guidelines suggest adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (also called MVPA) every week. This includes activities like brisk walking, swimming, or cycling.
The guidelines also recommend spreading this activity out over at least three days per week. But not everyone has time to exercise during the busy workweek.
So the researchers divided participants into four groups based on how much and how often they exercised: inactive (no exercise), insufficiently active (less than 150 minutes per week), weekend warriors (150 or more minutes in one or two sessions per week), and regularly active (150 or more minutes spread over three or more days per week).
The results, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, were encouraging. Compared to people who didn’t exercise at all, those who did some physical activity had a lower risk of dying during the study period.
Weekend warriors had a 21% lower risk of dying from any cause and a 33% lower risk of dying from heart disease. People who exercised more regularly also benefited, with a 17% lower risk of overall death and a 19% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.
Interestingly, the differences in cancer-related deaths were not as large or clear, suggesting that exercise may be more important for heart health and overall survival.
This study shows that for people with diabetes, any movement is better than none. Whether you exercise a little each day or pack it all into the weekend, meeting the weekly goal of 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity can make a big difference.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about Why diabetes drug metformin can help increase longevity and findings of This drug could manage type 2 diabetes for a long time.
For more about diabetes, please read studies about Potatoes: friend or foe in the battle against diabetes? and findings of This blood pressure drug may protect kidney health in people with diabetes.
Copyright © 2025 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
