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Taking “exercise snacks” may be key to promotion Yours suitability If you are short of time and Inspiration to hit gymResearchers have found out.
Doing short five-minute exercises, for example climbing stairs, may be enough Counteract negative health effects Of a sedentary lifestyle.
More than a third of adults and 80 percent of adolescents globally fail to meet recommended standards physical activity requirementsBut Research published in British Journal of Sports MedicineSuggests that these quick exercises have the potential to improve health.
“The time-efficient nature of exercise snacks can help overcome common barriers to physical activity, such as lack of time and Inspiration” the study authors said.
“Exercise snacks may increase adherence to regular physical activity by providing short, flexible exercise bouts that are easy to integrate into daily routines,” the authors said.
Researchers reviewed databases of clinical trials published through April 2025 and found 11 databases from Australia, Canada, China and the UK that were suitable for pooled data analysis. These included a total of 414 sedentary or physically inactive adults, more than two-thirds (69 percent) of whom were women.
“Exercise snacks” were defined as moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity lasting five minutes or less, excluding warm-up, cool-down, and intermediate recovery periods. The studies also included short bursts of exercise at least twice a day for three to seven days a week for four to 12 weeks.
These exercises included climbing stairs, either as continuous bouts or at repeated intervals, and leg-focused strength exercises and tai chi, which were the dominant forms of “exercise snack” among older adults.
Researchers evaluated the effects of these short intervals of exercise on cardiorespiratory suitabilitymuscular endurance, and cardiometabolic factors, such as blood fat and body fat distribution, to see if this could be a practical approach to preventing physical inactivity and its associated effects on health.
Insufficient amounts of physical activity puts approximately 1.8 billion adults globally at increased risk of non-communicable diseases such as heart attack and stroke.
Adults are recommended 300 minutes a week of moderate exercise, such as walking, or 75 to 100 minutes a week of vigorous, intense physical activity, such as running.
But data on “exercise snacking” have shown that cardiorespiratory fitness in adults is significantly improved without going on a long run or going to an aerobics class.
However, evidence that it improved muscle strength, blood pressure and body composition was limited.
Despite this, 83 percent of people were able to stick with the program, highlighting the potential feasibility of this approach in real-world, unsupervised settings, the study authors said.
“Since traditional time-efficient HIIT protocols remain controversial for physically inactive individuals due to their demanding nature, exercise snacks may be an alternative,” the study authors suggested.
“Public health policies should aim to integrate exercise snacks into daily life by encouraging movement breaks throughout the day,” she said.