Which is better for adolescents’ health: "regular exercise" or "weekend warriors"? --A cross-sectional study based on a sample from Tibet

OBJECTIVE: The study aims to analyze the distributional characteristics of one-week activity patterns among Tibetan adolescents and to explore the relationship between physical activity patterns and physical health. METHODS: This study employed a stratified cluster sampling method (with a Han-Tibetan ratio of 3:1), recruiting a total of 1275 students from two middle schools in Lhasa. Eventually, 1070 participants who met the criteria were retained. Chi-square test was used to compare the differences in ethnicity in terms of gender, educational stage, and activity patterns. Independent sample t-test was used to compare the differences in social economic status among ethnic groups, while the Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyze the differences in sleep and diet scores . Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the association between the three activity patterns and physical health. RESULTS: “Regular” ( OR =2.103, 95% CI :1.304~3.393, P =0.002) and “bouted” ( OR =3.343, 95% CI :1.628~6.866, P =0.001) were superior to the under-activity mode in enhancing physical health. There is no difference between the two in terms of improving physical health.( P =0.277). In the insufficient pattern group, the probability of reaching a physical health score of 80 gradually increased with the increase in intensity [vigorous physical activity percentage(VPA) and MET]( P _trend <0.001; P _trend =0.011). CONCLUSIONS: Both “regular” and “bouted” activity patterns have similar effects on improving the health of Tibetan teenagers. For those who lack exercise, it is recommended to adopt a "time + intensity" dual compensation strategy: while ensuring the duration of moderate to high-intensity exercise, the intensity of each session can be moderately increased.