Hyderabad: Are you employed and struggling to find time to exercise? A new study published in the journal Diabetes Care suggests that a few minutes of brisk walking several times during work hours, climbing stairs, or frequently getting up from the desk and moving around can help reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The study compared people who did not exercise during leisure time and remained largely inactive with those who accumulated short periods of physical activity during the day. This should not be interpreted to suggest that a brisk walk during work hours is better than a regular morning walk or exercise routine. For those who can combine regular exercise with rest periods during the workday, additional activity is likely to be more beneficial.
The study, titled “Dose-response associations of micropatterns of intermittent physical activity and type 2 diabetes,” analyzed 22,706 UK Biobank participants who reported no leisure-time exercise and had no diabetes at the start of the study. Participants were monitored using wrist-worn accelerometers and were followed for an average of 7.9 years, with 665 of them developing type 2 diabetes.
The researchers found that 3.9 minutes per day of vigorous intermittent physical activity (VILPA) was associated with a 36 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to no such activity. About 25.3 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous intermittent physical activity was associated with a 46% reduction in risk.
Hyderabad-based neurologist Dr Sudhir Kumar said the findings were particularly relevant to people who cannot devote an hour to exercise in the morning but can engage in short bouts of activity during work hours.
He said: “This study is useful for people who do not get time to exercise for an hour in the morning. Instead of sitting continuously during working hours, they can do these short bouts of activity. When you can do both, walk for an hour in the morning or exercise and stay active during working hours, that is an added advantage and will be more beneficial.”
According to Dr. Kumar, the second group in the study — people who don’t have time for morning exercise but can do short, unstructured bouts of activity during the day — could also benefit. “The worst impact is on those who are not doing anything,” he said. “If someone cannot do a regular morning exercise routine, these daytime snacks still make sense.”
The activity does not need to include formal exercise. A brisk walk between different parts of the office, climbing one or two flights of stairs several times a day, or getting up from the desk and moving around can contribute to physical activity. Dr Kumar said people can take a two- to three-minute movement break every 40 to 45 minutes to avoid sitting for long periods.
He added: “Most guidelines talk about 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per week. For many people, this seems overwhelming. This study shows that shorter bouts of exercise can also make a difference in terms of diabetes risk.”
Dr. Kumar also stressed that exercise should not be viewed as a substitute for a healthy lifestyle or regular physical activity among those who can control it. People with a genetic predisposition to diabetes should be especially careful about modifiable factors, including diet, physical activity and adequate rest, he said.
He said: “The genetic component cannot be changed, but everything that can be modified is in our hands. This is where exercise plays a role.”
He added that exercising does not eliminate the risk of diabetes, but it can reduce the risk of developing the disease. Therefore, people who have the time and ability to exercise regularly for one hour should continue to do so, while also avoiding long periods of sitting.
