Exercise Intensity Matters More Than Duration In Keeping Weight Off: Study

Every little bit counts- fitness is accumulative –a little here .a little there.

That's the message of a new study in the American Journal of Health Promotion, which showed that even a few minutes of brisk physical activity can add up to protect against obesity.

"What we learned is that for preventing weight gain, the intensity of the activity matters more than duration," study researcher Jessie X. Fan, a professor of family and consumer studies at the University of Utah, said in a statement. Knowing that even short bouts of 'brisk' activity can add up to a positive effect is an encouraging message for promoting better health."

Currently, U.S. adults are recommended to get 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise a week.

The study found that the people who engaged in the higher-intensity, short bouts experienced benefits to their body mass index. For instance, for women, spending an extra minute of high-intensity exertion each day was linked with a .07 decrease in body mass index.

Plus, for every additional minute each day of high-intensity exertion, obesity odds decreased 5 percent for women and 2 percent for men.