Setting aside half an hour for exercise most days of the week—the official recommendation from exercise scientists—isn’t always easy.

 But most of us can grab a few minutes here and there during the day for a quick walk. And that may be just as good, new research from the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at Loughborough University in the UK proves.

 

The researchers compared the effects of one 30-minute bout of brisk walking with ten 3-minute equally brisk jaunts in a group of healthy young men. Both regimens burned the same number of calories. Volunteers walked one day and rested the next.

 

On their days off, both groups of walkers enjoyed the same two important cardiovascular benefits. Their triglyceride levels (fat particles in the blood) were about 16 percent lower after meals and their resting systolic blood pressures were about 6 percent lower throughout the second day.

 

One long walk or ten short ones were equally effective, according to the findings, which were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in November.

 

So no more excuses. Almost all of us have a few minutes to spare during the day—first thing in the morning, between meetings, waiting for an appointment, during TV commercials.  Don’t just sit there. Walk. Your heart will be the healthier for it.

Tags: blood pressure, exercise, short bouts, trigylcerides, walking