Volume of Light Versus Moderate‐to‐Vigorous Physical Activity: Similar Benefits for All‐Cause Mortality?

Abstract

BackgroundIt is unclear whether the greater benefits of moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity (PA) over light PA are attributed to the higher‐intensity PA or simply the greater volume of PA accumulated per unit time for moderate‐to‐vigorous PA. We examined this question using estimates of the volume of light and moderate‐to‐vigorous PA in relation to all‐cause mortality.Methods and ResultsWe used National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003–2006 accelerometer records in adults (≥40 years; n=4840) and mortality data collected through 2011 (n=700 deaths). We estimated intensity‐specific PA volume using activity counts (AC) accumulated in light (100–759 AC/min), moderate‐to‐vigorous PA (≥760 AC/min), and total PA (≥100 AC/min). We examined quartiles of each exposure using Cox proportional hazard models (hazard ratios [95% confidence interval) adjusted for demographic and behavioral risk factors, health status, and body mass index. Mortality risk was less across increasing quartiles of light PA volume (AC×1000) when compared with the least quartile (AC ≤61.8); the least risk occurred in the upper quartile of light PA, AC >98.5 (hazard ratios=0.69, 95% confidence interval: 0.47, 1.00, P trend ≤0.05). The benefits for mortality risk were greater across quartiles of moderate‐to‐vigorous PA and reached a hazard ratio of 0.28 (95% confidence interval: 0.17, 0.46, P trend ≤0.05) for AC >187.9, when compared with the referent group (AC ≤50.8). Results examining various combinations of light and moderate‐to‐vigorous intensity‐specific volumes demonstrated the strong influence of total activity on mortality risk.ConclusionsIn this population, increasing light PA was associated with less mortality, but at an approximately equal volume of PA, moderate‐to‐vigorous PA appeared to have greater benefits.

Device‐measured light‐intensity physical activity and mortality: A meta‐analysis

“…Of these, 1010 articles were excluded after title and abstract screening and 23 full-text articles were assessed for potential eligibility. 10,11,[19][20][21][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46] Of these 23 articles, six studies met the criteria. 10,11,[19][20][21]33 From the remaining 17 studies contacted via email, five of them provided the requested results.…”

“…10,11,[19][20][21][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46] Of these 23 articles, six studies met the criteria. 10,11,[19][20][21]33 From the remaining 17 studies contacted via email, five of them provided the requested results. [29][30][31][32]34 Eight studies did not provide cutoff point of LPA because data re-analysis was not available, [36][37][38][40][41][42]44,45 one study included participants with chronic kidney disease, 35 and the other three studies did not adjust for MVPA.…”

“…Each study was adjusted for age, sex, and MVPA, while eight studies included accelerometer wear time for adjustment 10,11,[29][30][31][32][33][34] and three did not report accelerometer wear time. [19][20][21] Other covariates varied across the studies (see Table 1). Six studies found that time spent in LPA was significantly associated with a lower risk of mortality.…”

Energy Expenditure and Enjoyment During Active Video Gaming Using an Adapted Wii Fit Balance Board in Adults with Physical Disabilities: Observational Study (Preprint)

“…As noted in a recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, replacing sedentary time with light intensity physical activity is associated with less mortality in the general population of adults ≥40 years of age [49], with beneficial effects on health outcomes such as blood glucose [50].…”

The evaluation of a school-based military style high-intensity interval training intervention on adolescent’s physical health, mental well-being and quality of life

“…To accumulate 10 metabolic equivalent hours per week, partaking in only ~75 minutes of vigorous physical activity (VPA) is required (Manson et al, 2002;Tanasescu et al, 2002). As such, some have argued that researchers should be more concerned with the type of physical activity rather than the volume (A. H. Laursen, Kristiansen, Marott, Schnohr, & Prescott, 2012;Saint-Maurice, Troiano, Berrigan, Kraus, & Matthews, 2018).…”