Vigorous Intermittent Lifestyle Physical Activity (VILPA) refers to brief, intense exercises integrated into everyday life. Such activities can be simple yet effective, and they include:
- Quick-paced walking
- Ascending stairs
- Hoisting grocery bags
- Lifting and carrying children
- Trekking up slopes
How much VILPA to do in a day?
Recent findings advocate for engaging in three to four instances of one-minute VILPA sessions each day. This routine has been linked to a considerable decrease in mortality risks—by as much as 40% for general and cancer-related causes, and even a 49% reduction for cardiovascular-related fatalities.
Lead researcher Emmanuel Stamatakis, a Professor of Physical Activity, Lifestyle and Population Health at the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre.
points out that the health benefits traditionally attributed to structured high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can also be attained by simply amplifying the vigor of routine activities. According to Stamatakis, the more vigorous the daily activity, the greater the heal
“It requires no time commitment, no preparation, no club memberships, no special skills. It simply involves stepping up the pace while walking or doing the housework with a bit more energy.”
Prof Emmanuel Stamakakis University of Sydney
What did they discover about exercise as part of daily life?
- About 89 percent of all participants did some VILPA.
- Among those who did VILPA:
- 93 percent of all VILPA bouts last up to 1 minute
- On average each day participants did eight VILPA bouts of up to 1 minute each, totalling 6 minutes a day.
- On average each VILPA bout lasted around 45 seconds.
- The steepest gains were seen when comparing those with around four to five bouts per day to those with no VILPA.
- However, larger benefits were found with larger VILPA amounts, suggesting the more the better.
- The maximum of 11 bouts per day was associated with a 65 percent reduction in cardiovascular death risk and 49 percent reduction in cancer-related death risk, compared to no VILPA.
Fascinatingly, a study examining 62,000 regular exercisers demonstrated that intense physical activity, irrespective of it being structured exercise or part of daily chores, yielded similar health benefits.
Global Guidelines
This challenges the presumption held by global health guidelines that vigorous physical activity’s advantages are primarily derived from organized activities like sports or jogging in one’s free time. Notably, the WHO’s 2020 Global Guidelines on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour, for which Professor Stamatakis was a co-chair, shifted this perspective by emphasizing that ‘all activity counts.’ This was a significant departure from the previous assertion that physical activity needed to be performed in minimum bouts of 10 minutes to be beneficial.
Professor Stamatakis highlights a limitation of prior research on the health benefits of vigorous activity: it was based on self-reported questionnaires, which are unable to capture the nuance of short-duration activities.
He advocates for the use of wearable technology to identify ‘micropatterns’ in physical activity, such as those found in VILPA. This technological approach promises to uncover the most practical and time-efficient ways for individuals to reap the health rewards of physical activity, whether it’s for leisure or integrated into the routine of daily life.
In a landmark investigation, researchers have established that incorporating brief, intense periods of physical activity into routine daily actions can significantly decrease the likelihood of premature mortality, especially due to heart conditions. With cardiovascular diseases claiming approximately 17.9 million lives globally each year, including 697,000 in the United States alone in 2020, the stakes are high. These conditions, often exacerbated by sedentary lifestyles, obesity, and poor diet, represent a leading cause of death.
This positive outlook stems from a study identifying that engaging in vigorous physical activity in short spurts—termed ‘vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity’ or VILPA—during daily life can lead to a considerable drop in death risks.
This pioneering research, spearheaded by the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre and detailed in Nature Medicine on December 8, marks a first in quantifying the health advantages of VILPA.
VILPA, which might include dashing for the bus or briskly completing household chores, encapsulates vigorous activities that last between one to two minutes. Remarkably, a daily total of three to four minutes of such activity correlates with a reduction in mortality rates by up to 40% for various causes and by up to 49% for heart-related conditions.
Highlighting the parallels to high-intensity interval training (HIIT), Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis of the University of Sydney points out that the intensity of mundane daily tasks can be modified to yield substantial health benefits. Furthermore, the research indicates that these incremental physical activities can bridge the gap for the many adults over 40 who typically avoid formal exercise.
The findings from the study, based on data from the UK Biobank, reveal that:
- A vast majority, about 89%, of participants engaged in VILPA activities.
- Most VILPA sessions lasted no longer than a minute, with an average of eight bouts daily.
- The most significant health improvements were noted among individuals who incorporated four to five VILPA sessions per day.
- Engaging in up to 11 bouts of VILPA daily was linked to a 65% lower risk of heart disease-related death and a 49% reduction in cancer mortality.
- Comparative analysis showed that vigorous activities as part of daily chores offer comparable health benefits to structured exercise.
- The study employed wrist-worn trackers to monitor over 25,000 individuals who did not regularly exercise, confirming that their recorded activity was incidental and part of their daily life.
While the research is observational and cannot definitively prove causation, robust statistical controls were applied to account for health status variations among participants.
The study’s significance is recognized by Professor Naomi Allen, Chief Scientist of UK Biobank, who emphasizes the value of such detailed physical activity data. In light of these insights, an international cohort of researchers calls for a reevaluation of physical activity guidelines, to align them with recent findings. They suggest that modern wearable technology, by capturing these ‘micropatterns’ of activity, offers a promising avenue for optimizing health benefits derived from physical activity in daily life.
How I modified my Exercise snacks to do VILPA.
Previously I use to do 5 minutes exercise snacks of moderate intensity every hour. I set an alarm on my phone to remind me to get up from my desk and walk around or grab a glass of water and walk around for five mine. Read my post here.
Now I have modified the 5 minutes to have 1-2 minutes of vigorous exercise like high knees or running fast on the spot or jumping jacks for one minute. Then do the rest of the 3 minutes in lower intensity like walking around the house or going down the steps to the garden and coming back up briskly. I also carry the grocery bags from the car to the house in a brisk speed of walking. I am mindful of VILPA now thorough the day and try to do a number of activities very briskly.
Reference:
“Association of wearable device-measured vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity with mortality” by Emmanuel Stamatakis, Matthew N. Ahmadi, Jason M. R. Gill, Cecilie Thøgersen-Ntoumani, Martin J. Gibala, Aiden Doherty and Mark Hamer, 8 December 2022, Nature Medicine.
DOI: 10.1038/s41591-022-02100-x
