If you skip your workouts regularly because you can't find 30 minutes or more in your busy day, you've run out of excuses. New research from the Journal of the American College of Nutrition indicates that several short bouts of exercise can provide the fitness and weight loss benefits as a continuous longer session.

The study evaluated overweight, female college students who agreed to follow a calorie-restricted diet for 12 weeks. After completing an exercise test and being weighed and measured, the women were divided into four groups: a control group that didn't exercise, a group that exercised for 30 minutes continuously, a group that exercised for 15 minutes twice a day, and a group that exercised for 10 minutes three times a day. The exercising women exercised three to five times per week, and all study participants were monitored for weight loss and heart rate.

The women who exercised in 30-, 15-, or 10-minute sessions experienced similar increases in oxygen capacity and decreases in weight, whereas the women who didn't exercise did not experience substantial changes in oxygen capacity or weight. As a result of these findings, researchers concluded that several short exercise sessions provide similar fitness and weight loss benefits as a single continuous session.

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