Effect of moderate-intensity exercise bouts lasting <10 minutes on body composition in sedentary Kenyan adults aged ≥50 years

BACKGROUND: Sedentary lifestyles and related morbidities are rising among adults despite existing exercise recommendations. Appealing exercise regimes yielding similar/better body composition should be sought. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the effect of moderate-intensity exercise bouts of <10 min on body composition in previously sedentary adults. METHODS: This unblinded study enrolled 53 healthy sedentary volunteers aged ≥50 years, randomised into one of two gender-balanced exercise interventions: (1) male and (2) female short-duration bouts (M(S), n=14; F(S), n = 13), and (3) male and (4) female long-duration bouts (M(L), n=13; F(L), n=13). Short-duration bouts entailed 5–10 min of jogging thrice daily; long-duration bouts, 30–60 min 3–5 days weekly. Body composition was determined at recruitment and 8-weekly thereafter, for 24 weeks. RESULTS: At baseline, 14.3% of M(S), 38.5% of M(L), 92.3% of F(S) and 69.2% of F(L) were obese, dropping to 7.1%, 15.4%, 61.5% and 30.8%, respectively. For waist:height ratio, 64.3 % of M(S), 76.9% of M(L), 100% of F(S) and 84.6.3% of F(L) had ratios >0.5, dropping to 42.9%, 30.8%, 92.9% and 26.2%, respectively. While baseline M(S) and M(L) waist:hip ratio (WHR) ≥0.9 were 64.3% and 69.2%, respectively, they correspondingly dropped to 23.1% and 21.4%. The F(S) and F(L) with WHR ≥0.85 dropped from 46.2% to 15.4% and from 30.8% to 7.7%, respectively. Body composition variables improved for both sexes (all p <0.05) and mean change between exercise regimes was comparable for both sexes. CONCLUSION: In equal cumulative times, moderate-intensity exercise bouts lasting <10 min are comparable with current 30–60 min bouts in body composition modification for adults of ≥50 years.