More vigorous exercise was associated with a lower risk of health troubles (Image: Getty)
Getting out of breath for just a few minutes each day through short bursts of activity could lower your risk of eight major conditions including heart disease, dementia and diabetes, a study suggests. Researchers analysed data from 96,408 people to investigate the health benefits of vigorous activity. They found that even brief moments of higher intensity effort, such as running to catch a bus, were associated with a lower risk of common diseases and death.
Professor Minxue Shen, of Central South University in Hunan, China, said: “We know that physical activity reduces the risk of chronic disease and premature death, and there is growing evidence that vigorous activity provides greater health benefits per minute than moderate activity. But questions remain about the importance of intense activity versus total physical activity. For example, if two people do the same total amount of activity, does the person who exercises more vigorously gain greater health benefits?
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“And if someone has limited time, should they focus on exercising harder rather than longer?”
The study used data from participants in the UK Biobank study with an average age of 62, who wore accelerometers on their wrists for one week.
The devices ensured that data was captured even for short periods of activity that people may not remember.
Researchers analysed the data to measure both overall activity and how much of that activity was intense enough to cause breathlessness.
They then looked at health data for eight serious conditions over seven years. These were major cardiovascular disease, irregular heartbeat, type 2 diabetes, immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, liver disease, chronic respiratory diseases, chronic kidney disease and dementia.
The analysis found that people who clocked up more minutes of vigorous movement had a lower risk of developing all conditions.
Compared with those who did no vigorous activity, individuals with the highest levels saw a 63% lower risk of dementia, a 60% lower risk of type 2 diabetes, and a 46% lower risk of death.
Intense exercise — even in short bursts — appeared to have particular benefits when it came to preventing inflammatory conditions such as arthritis and psoriasis.
The study was observational so could not prove that vigorous activity caused the lower risk of health conditions in some participants.
However, Professor Shen said: “Vigorous physical activity appears to trigger specific responses in the body that lower-intensity activity cannot fully replicate.
Short bursts of activity such as running up stairs could have health benefits (Image: Getty)
“During vigorous physical activity — the kind that makes you feel out of breath — your body responds in powerful ways.
“Your heart pumps more efficiently, your blood vessels become more flexible, and your body improves its ability to use oxygen.
“Vigorous 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.”
Dr Shen said adding vigorous activity to your daily routine could have “substantial health benefits”. However, he added that this does not require a trip to the gym.
The expert said: “Adding short bursts of activity that make you slightly breathless into daily life, like taking the stairs quickly, walking fast between errands or playing actively with children, can make a real difference.
“Even 15 to 20 minutes per week of this kind of effort — just a few minutes a day — was linked to meaningful health benefits.”
The findings were published in the European Heart Journal.
