Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jan 1;50(1):31-37.
doi: 10.1249/JES.0000000000000275.

Exercise Snacks: A Novel Strategy to Improve Cardiometabolic Health

Hashim Islam  1 , Martin J Gibala  2 , Jonathan P Little  1
Affiliations

Exercise Snacks: A Novel Strategy to Improve Cardiometabolic Health

Hashim Islam et al. Exerc Sport Sci Rev. .

Abstract

We define exercise snacks as isolated ≤1-min bouts of vigorous exercise performed periodically throughout the day. We hypothesize that exercise snacks are a feasible, well-tolerated, and time-efficient approach to improve cardiorespiratory fitness and reduce the negative impact of sedentary behavior on cardiometabolic health. Efficacy has been demonstrated in small proof-of-concept studies. Additional research should investigate this novel physical activity strategy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

References

    1. Sedentary Behaviour Research Network. Letter to the editor: standardized use of the terms “sedentary” and “sedentary behaviours”. Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab . 2012; 37(3):540–2.
    1. Ross R, Blair SN, Arena R, et al. Importance of assessing cardiorespiratory fitness in clinical practice: a case for fitness as a clinical vital sign: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation . 2016; 134(24):e653–99.
    1. Thorp AA, Owen N, Neuhaus M, Dunstan DW. Sedentary behaviors and subsequent health outcomes in adults a systematic review of longitudinal studies, 1996-2011. Am. J. Prev. Med . 2011; 41(2):207–15.
    1. Trost SG, Owen N, Bauman AE, Sallis JF, Brown W. Correlates of adults' participation in physical activity: review and update. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc . 2002; 34(12):1996–2001.
    1. Hoare E, Stavreski B, Jennings GL, Kingwell BA. Exploring motivation and barriers to physical activity among active and inactive Australian adults. Sports (Basel) . 2017 [cited 2021 Jan 22]; 5(3):47. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5968958/ .

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources