A study by the University of Seoul’s Institute of Health and Exercise for Urban Older Adults, involving more than 28,000 Korean adults, suggests that concentrating physical activity into one or two days a week could be a practical option for people who find it difficult to exercise regularly.

Exercising primarily on one or two days a week may be associated with a lower likelihood of hypertension, particularly among adults with lower incomes, according to a new study from the University of Seoul.

Researchers at the university’s Institute of Health and Exercise for Urban Older Adults, led by Professor Sae Young Jae, examined data from 28,039 adults who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2018 and 2023.

Compared with physically inactive adults, those who concentrated their weekly physical activity into one or two days—an activity pattern commonly known as the “weekend warrior” pattern—had lower odds of having hypertension. The association was more pronounced among people in lower-income groups.

“Not everyone is able to exercise regularly during the working week,” Jae said. “For people facing long working hours, financial constraints, or other barriers to physical activity, concentrating exercise on the weekend may offer a realistic alternative.”

The findings do not establish that weekend exercise directly prevents hypertension. However, they suggest that the health benefits associated with physical activity may not be limited to people who exercise frequently throughout the week.

The study aligns with the institute’s broader mission to develop practical physical activity strategies and reduce health inequalities among socially and economically vulnerable urban populations.

The research was conducted as part of the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Institute Support Program, funded by the Ministry of Education and the National Research Foundation of Korea. The findings were published online in Clinical Hypertension, the official international journal of the Korean Society of Hypertension.