OBJECTIVE: Whether accumulating short intermittent bouts of light-to-moderate physical activity (LMPA) can elicit significant improvements in the fitness of sedentary adults, compared to one longer continuous bout. METHODS: Fifty sedentary 35- to 60-year-old adults in Hong Kong were randomly appointed to one of two gender-balanced intervention programs: exercise prescription model (EPM) of 30-minute continuous activity, 3 to 4 days per week, or a lifestyle group (LIFE) of 6-minute activity, 5 times per day, 4 to 5 days per week. Aerobic fitness (VO2max), mass, body composition, blood pressure, waist-to-hip ratio, and body mass index (BMI) were assessed at baseline (December 1995) and after 8 weeks. RESULTS: Nearly half of bouts by the LIFE group were <= 6 min, while 85% of the EPM bouts were >= 30 min, with no differences in additional energy expenditure between groups (EPM: 163.0 +/- 89.6 MET h versus LIFE: 148.2 +/- 71.6 MET h). Both groups significantly improved their VO2max, 7.4% (ES 0.36) and 5.3% (ES 0.24) for the EPM and Lifestyle groups respectively (F[1,43] = 34.0, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Accumulating multiple short bouts of LMPA, of which about 50% were <= 6 min, can provide significant improvements in the fitness of sedentary adults that is not dissimilar as one continuous bout of similar total duration.
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