From the viewpoint of exercise as biological exertion, any time you are physically exerting yourself, you are exercising. If you exert yourself in short time periods peppered in throughout your day, then you are exercising/exerting more than you were if you did not. This can have a cumulative effect on health.
The more you exert yourself in any given time period, the greater the stress on the body and the potentially more results you will have.
So, efficacy of exercise correlates with intensity.
High intensity interval training can show how powerful short time periods can be. An example is the "Tabata Protocol", a popular and fairly well -studied form of this type of training.
http://www.intervalstraining.net/tabata-protocol-fit-4-minutes/
Of course, it all depends on what you want.
Example: During a half-hour lunch break one person goes for a 20 minute walk. The other person engages in 15 minutes of high intensity interval training. The interval training individual will probably have exerted her body more than the other person but that does not mean it is "better". Interval training is more effective when judged by certain physiological standards. However, the lunch walker may enjoy a gentler form of exercise. The interaction with the outside environment may be as beneficial as the cardio effects of the walk. Perhaps the lunch-time walker walks with friends and thus also enjoys the pleasures of human relationships. These "psycho-social" factors are very important to health. Both people will enjoy the fruits of their chosen exercise.
So, in exercise as in all aspects of life, what do you want?
***DISCLAIMER- This blog is for informational purposes only
. Always seek your doctor’s advice before
beginning any exercise program.
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