Association between Bout Duration of Physical Activity and Health: Systematic Review

<jats:title>ABSTRACT</jats:title> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Purpose</jats:title> <jats:p>This study aimed to conduct a systematic literature review to determine whether physical activity episodes of <10 min in duration have health-related benefits or, alternatively, if the benefits are only realized when the duration of physical activity episodes is ≥10 min.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Methods</jats:title> <jats:p>The primary literature search was conducted for the <jats:italic toggle="yes">2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Report</jats:italic> and encompassed literature through June 2017, with an additional literature search conducted to include literature published through March 2018 for inclusion in this systematic review.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Results</jats:title> <jats:p>The literature review identified 29 articles that were pertinent to the research question that used either cross-sectional, prospective cohort, or randomized designs. One prospective cohort study (<jats:italic toggle="yes">N</jats:italic> = 4840) reported similar associations between moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and all-cause mortality when examined as total MVPA, MVPA in bouts ≥5 min in duration, or MVPA in bouts ≥10 min in duration. Additional evidence was identified from cross-sectional and prospective studies to support that bouts of physical activity <10 min in duration are associated with a variety of health outcomes. Randomized studies only examined bouts of physical activity ≥10 min in duration.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title> <jats:p>The current evidence, from cross-sectional and prospective cohort studies, supports that physical activity of any bout duration is associated with improved health outcomes, which includes all-cause mortality. This may suggest the need for a contemporary paradigm shift in public health recommendations for physical activity, which supports total MVPA as an important lifestyle behavior regardless of the bout duration.</jats:p> </jats:sec>