AIM: To investigate effect of < 10 min moderate intensity exercise on cardiovascular function and maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) among sedentary adults. METHODS: We studied 53 sedentary urbanites aged >= 50 years, randomised into: (1) male (MS) and (2) female (FS) undertaking three short-duration exercise (5 to 10 min) daily, and (3) male (ML) and (4) female (FL) exercising 30 to 60 min 3 to 5 days weekly. Resting systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate and VO2max were measured at baseline and 8 weekly for 24 weeks. RESULTS: At baseline, 50% MS, 61.5% ML, 53.8% FS and 53.8% FL had SBP >= 120 mmHg, and 14.3% MS, 53.8% ML, 23.1% FS and 38.5% FL had DBP >= 80 mmHg. At 24 weeks, where SBP remained >= 120 mmHg, values decreased from 147 +/- 19.2 to 132.3 +/- 9.6 mmHg (50% of MS), from 144 +/- 12.3 to 128 +/- 7.0 mmHg (23.1% of ML), from 143.1 +/- 9.6 to 128.0 +/- 7.0 mmHg (53.8% of FS) and from 152.3 +/- 23.7 to 129 +/- 3.7 mmHg (30.8% of FL). For DBP >= 80 mmHg, MS and FS percentages maintained, but values decreased from 101 +/- 15.6 to 84.5 +/- 0.7 mmHg (MS) and 99.0 +/- 3.6 to 87.7 +/- 4.9 mmHg (FS). In ML and FL, percentage with DBP >= 80mm Hg dropped to 15.4% (86.1 +/- 6.5 to 82.5 +/- 3.5 mmHg) and (91.4 +/- 5.3 to 83.5 +/- 0.71 mmHg). VO2max increased from 26.1 +/- 4.4 to 32.0 +/- 6.2 for MS, from 25.8 +/- 5.1 to 28.8 +/- 5.4 for ML (group differences p = 0.02), from 20.2 +/- 1.8 to 22.7 +/- 2.0 for FS and from 21.2 +/- 1.9 to 24.2 +/- 2.7 for FL (groups differences p = 0.38). CONCLUSION: Accumulated moderate intensity exercise bouts of < 10 min confer similar-to-better cardiovascular and VO2max improvements compared with current recommendations among sedentary adults.

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