Sign up for CNN’s Fitness, But Better newsletter series. Our seven-part guide will help you ease into a healthy routine, backed by experts.

CNN
 — 

People who only exercise on weekends have a similar risk of developing mild dementia to those who work out more frequently, a new study has found.

Weekend warriors who engage in one or two sessions of exercise a week were the focus of the research, published online Tuesday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

A team of academics from Latin America and Europe set out to determine whether the frequency of exercise affects the risk of developing mild dementia.

Researchers found that not only was the weekend pattern of keeping fit potentially as effective in staving off the condition, but that it may also be easier for people with busy lifestyles to achieve.

The scientists examined two sets of survey data from the Mexico City Prospective Study, a longitudinal study that followed the health of thousands of people in the Mexican capital over many years. The initial survey took place between 1998 and 2004, and the second, which resurveyed the same people, started in 2015 and ended four years later.

In total, 10,033 people, with an average age of 51, took part in the surveys, and their responses were included in the study.

In the first survey, participants were asked whether they exercised, how often they did so and for how long.

Based on their answers, the researchers divided the respondents into four groups: those who didn’t exercise at all; the weekend warriors who either played sport or exercised once or twice a week; the regularly active, who worked out at least three times a week; and a combined group of regularly active people and weekend warriors.

In the second survey, respondents’ cognitive function was assessed using the Mini Mental State Examination, which, according to the study, is “probably the most widely used tool to screen for cognitive impairment and dementia in older adults.”

Similar results for men and women

The researchers found that the weekend exercisers were 13% less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment than those who didn’t exercise at all, while the regularly active and those in the combined group were 12% less likely to do so. The results were similar for both men and women.

The finding led the team to conclude that 13% of cases of mild dementia could be avoided if all middle-aged people exercised at least once or twice a week.

Lead author Gary O’Donovan, an adjunct professor at the School of Medicine at Colombia’s University of the Andes, told CNN that around half of the weekend warriors reported exercising for at least 30 minutes per session, while the rest exercised for about an hour or more each time.

When compared with the group that did not exercise, the weekend warriors were 13% less likely to develop mild dementia, and those in the regular and combined groups were 12% less likely. O’Donovan said that these are “average values” and that the “margins of error overlap.” In other words, he said, “there are similar reductions in risk in the groups.”

“We found that the weekend warrior physical activity pattern and the regularly active physical activity pattern were associated with similar reductions in mild dementia risks after adjustment for confounders,” the researchers wrote.

These confounding factors included a range of things that could affect the relationship between cognition and physical activity, such as age, sex, education and body mass index.

The researchers continued by saying: “To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first prospective cohort study to show that the weekend warrior physical activity pattern and the regularly active physical activity pattern are associated with similar reductions in the risk of mild dementia.”

Commenting on the significance of the study, O’Donovan said: “The whole weekend warrior physical activity pattern is important because lack of time is a major barrier to taking part in more sport and exercise. Surveys of men and women around the world suggest that two-thirds of adults would like to do more but just don’t have the time.

“I’ve been interested for a long time now in correcting this misconception that one size fits all when it comes to exercise. I feel quite strongly that the weekend warriors around the world should be told that what they are doing is fine.”

He added: “The weekend warrior research is starting to add up now. It’s pretty clear that the health benefits are much the same as exercising more often.”

According to the study, the researchers believe their findings could “have important implications for policy and practice because the weekend warrior physical activity pattern may be a more convenient option for busy people in Latin America and elsewhere.”

Their conclusions echoed a broader recent study that suggested that weekend warrior workouts could be as effective as more regular exercise when it comes to lowering the risk of developing more than 200 diseases. These scientists, who published their findings in the journal Circulation in September, used data from the UK Biobank project to reach their conclusions.

Chris Russell, senior lecturer at the Association for Dementia Studies at the UK’s University of Worcester, welcomed the research as encouraging, saying “more research needs to be done (on dementia) within middle- to low-income countries,” such as Mexico. Russell was not involved in the study.

“There’s evidence that physical activity can help prevent dementia,” he said, explaining that informal activities such as dancing and walking can be beneficial as well as team sports and other fitness activities.

Beside the physical benefits of exercise, there is also the company and socializing with others that keeping fit often involves, which would help ward off cognitive decline, Russell said.

He said there is good evidence that “physical activity can prevent dementia” but added that “it’s not in any way certain,” noting that other risk factors, such as diet and smoking must also be taken into account.

More than 55 million people currently have dementia around the world, with nearly 10 million new cases diagnosed every year, according to the World Health Organization.