PURPOSE

Although the “weekend warrior (WW)” physical activity (PA) pattern has known health benefits, its association with sarcopenia is unclear. This study examined whether the WW PA pattern is associated with a lower likelihood of sarcopenia compared with the inactive and regularly active (RA) PA patterns.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study included 28,918 participants.

Individuals reporting ≥150 minutes per week of moderate PA, ≥75 minutes per week of vigorous PA, or ≥ 150 minutes per week of moderate to vigorous leisure-time PA were classified as “active.” Within the active group, those exercising 1 to 2 days per week were categorized as WWs, and those exercising on ≥3 days per week were categorized as RA. Sarcopenia was defined as a sarcopenia index >2 SD below the sex-specific reference.

RESULTS

In a logistic regression adjusted for all covariates, WWs had significantly lower odds of sarcopenia compared with both inactive (OR 0.16; 95% CI, 0.07-0.35) and RA individuals (OR 0.25; 95% CI, 0.11-0.56).

RA participants also showed reduced odds compared with the inactive group (OR 0.64; 95% CI, 0.52-0.79). Regarding PA volume, the Kruskal-Wallis test indicated that RA participants participate in more moderate-intensity PA (RA 159.3 vs WW 125.3 min/wk), whereas WWs engaged in more vigorous-intensity PA (RA 32.4 vs WW 47.1 min/wk).

CONCLUSIONS

The WW PA pattern was associated with a lower prevalence of sarcopenia compared with both inactive and RA individuals, suggesting that concentrated, infrequent but high-intensity activity may help reduce sarcopenia risk-particularly for those with limited time.