Walking for the bus could save your life – brief bouts of exercise linked to lower risk of dementia, diabetes and heart disease, study finds

Even short exercises such as walking to the bus can cut the risk of dementia or type 2 diabetes by up to half, a study suggests.

Climbing the stairs, playing actively with the kids or just walking briskly between errands for just a few minutes a day all have significant health benefits, experts say.

Researchers at Central South University in Hunan, China examined the effects of movement on the likelihood of dying or developing eight health conditions.

They analyzed data from 96,408 UK adults who wore a device that tracked their movement for one week and then followed their medical history for seven years to look for diagnoses of heart disease, including irregular heartbeat, diabetes, liver disease, chronic lung conditions, chronic kidney disease, dementia and immune disorders. psoriasis

Research has found that people who spend a high proportion of their physical activity in movement have a lower risk of all diseases – even if the amount of time is small.

Those with the highest ratio of vigorous activity were 63 percent less likely to develop dementia and 60 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those with no vigorous activity.

Menxu Shen, a professor at Xiangya School of Public Health at Central South University, said: “Violent physical activity appears to trigger specific responses in the body that low-intensity activity cannot fully replicate.

During vigorous physical activity—the kind that makes you feel breathless—your body reacts in powerful ways.

‘Your heart pumps more efficiently, your blood vessels become more flexible, and your body’s ability to use oxygen improves.’

The study found that intensity was important for reducing the risk of inflammatory diseases such as arthritis and psoriasis.

However, for other conditions such as diabetes and chronic liver disease, both timing and intensity of exercise were important.

Professor Shane added: “Strengthening activity also appears to reduce inflammation.”

This may help explain why we saw strong associations with inflammatory conditions such as psoriasis and arthritis.

It may also stimulate chemicals in the brain that help keep brain cells healthy, which could help explain the lower risk of dementia.

Professor Shane said people don’t need a gym membership to add vigorous activity to their day.

“Adding short activities that give you some breathing room into your daily routine, such as climbing the stairs, walking briskly between errands or playing actively with the kids, can make a real difference,” he said.

“Even 15 to 20 minutes of such effort per week—just a few minutes a day—is associated with significant health benefits.”

The NHS recommends that adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week.

However, Professor Shane said his findings – published in the European Heart Journal – suggest that “the composition of this activity is important, and depends on what disease you’re trying to prevent”.

“This could open the door to personalized physical activity recommendations based on an individual’s specific health risks,” he added.

Vigorous activity may not be safe for everyone, especially older adults or people with certain medical conditions.

For them, any increase in movement is still beneficial, and the activity should be tailored to the individual.