10-15 minute bouts of walking better than shorter for heart health, study finds

“The key takeaway is: even if you don’t do enough physically, by changing the pattern you can make the most out of whatever you are doing,” Stamatakis says. “It’s a really important message.”

Why? The researchers suggested that we needed the longer durations to meaningfully activate cardiometabolic mechanisms such as improvements in heart-rate variability, parasympathetic (vagal) tone or insulin sensitivity.

Does this dilute or debunk the idea of exercise snacks (such as 20 seconds of all-out stair sprints) or short bursts of vigorous incidental activity (such as walking quickly for five minutes) being as effective as longer bouts of activity?

No, says Stamatakis.

About 95 per cent of the time, walking is a light-to-moderate intensity activity, he says. Compared with vigorous activities it is “far less potent”, but by extending the bout it makes it more effective.

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And, he adds, light and vigorous activities influence the body in different ways.

By increasing the length of light-intensity activity bouts we can activate our aerobic system and improve metabolic health.

Even short bursts of vigorous activity can cause more drastic adaptations to our physiology, acting directly on cardiorespiratory system.

“The study reinforces that even small increases in daily physical activity can benefit health,” says Professor David Dunstan, of the Baker Heart & Diabetes Institute.

“Importantly, it shifts the focus beyond just counting daily steps, offering early advice that how those steps are accumulated throughout the day could matter, particularly for people who are the least active.”

The study focused on people who do not meet the physical activity guidelines because they have the highest risk of chronic disease, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, dementia, cancer and obesity.

“‘Do more’ is a very important message,” says Stamatakis. “It’s sound advice but the reality is the majority of the population, for whatever reason, do not invest the time. So why not try and understand how to maximise the potency of activity among physically inactive people?”

For people who are physically active, even those of us who are active couch potatoes and meet or exceed the guidelines despite spending much of the day sitting, he says step patterns will likely matter less.

“Those people will get the most benefits from the volume of exercise they do,” he explains.

If he were to design the optimal strategy for someone who does very little activity, Stamatakis says he would suggest trying to increase the length of walking bouts whatever intensity they are. But he would also suggest trying to incorporate a few bursts of higher intensity within the longer bout.

For instance, if you walk for 15 minutes, maximise your walking pace for one to two minutes to get slightly out of breath.

“They’re complementary in each and every way,” he says of ‘snacks’ and ‘meals’. Putting a number on the potency of the two together? That, Stamatakis says, is the plan for the next paper.

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