‘Weekend Warriors’ Shown to Lower Their Risk of Life-threatening Illnesses

研究顯示，僅做「週末戰士」亦能減低致命性疾病的風險

So-called "weekend warriors" — people who exercise one or two days a week — may reduce their risk of dying over roughly the next decade nearly as much as people who work out more often, according to a new study.

      所謂「週末戰士(warrior)」是指一週中只有一、兩天會從事運動的人。一份新的研究指出，週末戰士們在十年間的死亡風險與平常從事更多運動的人幾乎相差不遠。

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‘Weekend Warriors’ Shown to Lower Their Risk of Life-threatening Illnesses
VOA News
January 09, 2017 4:30 PM Jessica Berman (source) 

'Weekend Warriors' Shown to Lower Their Risk of Life-threatening Illnesses

研究顯示，僅做「週末戰士」亦能減低致命性疾病的風險

January 09, 2017 4:30 PM

Jessica Berman

So-called "weekend warriors" — people who exercise one or two days a week — may reduce their risk of dying over roughly the next decade nearly as much as people who work out more often, according to a new study.

Previous guidelines from the World Health Organization recommend that the average adult engage in moderate-intensity physical activity for at least 150 minutes per week — or vigorous activity for 75 minutes per week — in order to reduce the risks of dying from causes such as heart disease and cancer.

However, there is no consensus on how best to distribute the exercise time to achieve the greatest health benefits.

In the study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers looked to address that question.

The study found that "weekend warriors" reduced their risk of dying by 30 percent compared to those who engaged in little or no physical activity. People who exercised more often throughout the week lowered their risk by 35 percent.

For cancer deaths, the risk reductions were 18 percent in “weekend warriors” and 21 percent in those who were regularly active.

And for cardiovascular disease, there was a 41 percent lower risk of heart disease in people who were physically active one or two days a week and those who engaged in physical exertion more regularly, compared to so-called "couch potatoes."

The study, conducted during a 9-year period, was based on the self-reported exercise habits and health examinations of more than 63,000 adults in England and Scotland. The information was linked to mortality records.

Exercises included participating in sports or taking a brisk walk.

Emmanuel Stamatakis from the University of Sydney in Australia, one of the study's senior authors, found it "very encouraging" that even people who exercised as little as one or two times a week appear to lower their risk of obesity, health problems and death.

But for peak health, Stamatakis said, more exercise is better.

Physical activity has been associated with a reduction in a number of risk factors for disease, including lowering cholesterol, controlling weight and reducing blood pressure.

所謂「週末戰士(warrior)」是指一週之中只有一、兩天會運動的人。一份新的研究指出，週末戰士們在十年間減少的死亡風險與平日更頻繁運動的人幾乎相差不遠。

世界衛生組織(World Health Organization, WHO)在之前所頒布的指南中建議，一般成年人每週應從事(engage in)至少150分鐘中高強度的體能活動，或75分鐘的高強度運動(vigorous activity)，如此能減少因心臟病及癌症等疾病而死亡的風險。

然而，對於該如何最恰當地分配(distribute)運動時間以獲得對健康最大的益處，目前卻仍未有共識(consensus)。

研究人員著眼於處理(address)這個問題，其研究發表在《美國醫學會雜誌：內科醫學》(JAMA Internal Medicine)期刊。

（編按：《美國醫學會雜誌：內科醫學》(JAMA Internal Medicine)是一經過同行評審(peer review)，由「美國醫學會」(American Medical Association)每月發行的醫學期刊。）

研究發現，相較於很少運動或幾乎不運動的人，「週末戰士」減少了約30%的死亡風險。而一週之中更頻繁運動的人，減少的風險則是35%。

就癌症死亡來看，「週末戰士」的風險減少了18%，而更規律運動的人則減少了21%。

而在心血管疾病(cardiovascular disease)方面，與所謂不愛動的「沙發馬鈴薯(couch potato)」相比，一週當中運動一到兩天的人，以及會更規律地從事耗費體力的運動(physical exertion)的人，其罹患心臟相關疾病的風險減少了41%。

這一份研究是以研究進行的九年期間，在英格蘭與蘇格蘭超過6萬3千名成年人所自行回報的(self-reported)運動習慣和健康檢查結果為依據。這些資料並與死亡紀錄(mortality record)作連結。

研究中所指的運動包含了參加體育運動，或是快步行走(take a brisk walk)等。

澳洲雪梨大學的伊曼紐爾‧史達瑪特葛斯(Emmanuel Stamatakis)是此研究的主要作者之一。他認為這個研究的發現「相當激勵人心(encouraging)」，即使是一週只運動一到兩次的人，其肥胖(obesity)、發生健康問題和死亡的風險都顯示有所減少。

但史達瑪特葛斯也說，若要達到最佳的(peak)健康狀態，還是要再多動一點。

體能活動與多個會導致疾病的風險因子的減少有關，包括膽固醇(cholesterol)的下降、體重控制和血壓降低等。