Abstract:
Background Sedentary lifestyles and related morbidities
are rising among adults despite existing exercise
recommendations. Appealing exercise regimes yielding
similar/better body composition should be sought.
Objective We investigated the effect of moderate-
intensity exercise bouts of <10 min on body composition in
previously sedentary adults.
Methods This unblinded study enrolled 53 healthy
sedentary volunteers aged ≥50 years, randomised into one
of two gender-balanced exercise interventions: (1) male
and (2) female short-duration bouts (M S , n=14; F S , n =
13), and (3) male and (4) female long-duration bouts (M L ,
n=13; F L , n=13). Short-duration bouts entailed 5–10 min
of jogging thrice daily; long-duration bouts, 30–60 min
3–5 days weekly. Body composition was determined at
recruitment and 8-weekly thereafter, for 24 weeks.
Results At baseline, 14.3% of M S , 38.5% of M L , 92.3% of
F S and 69.2% of F L were obese, dropping to 7.1%, 15.4%,
61.5% and 30.8%, respectively. For waist:height ratio,
64.3 % of M S , 76.9% of M L , 100% of F S and 84.6.3% of
F L had ratios >0.5, dropping to 42.9%, 30.8%, 92.9% and
26.2%, respectively. While baseline M S and M L waist:hip
ratio (WHR) ≥0.9 were 64.3% and 69.2%, respectively,
they correspondingly dropped to 23.1% and 21.4%. The
F S and F L with WHR ≥0.85 dropped from 46.2% to 15.4%
and from 30.8% to 7.7%, respectively. Body composition
variables improved for both sexes (all p <0.05) and mean
change between exercise regimes was comparable for
both sexes.
Conclusion In equal cumulative times, moderate-
intensity exercise bouts lasting <10 min are comparable
with current 30–60 min bouts in body composition
modification for adults of ≥50 years.
