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Sensors placed on their muscles showed why: even though the overall exercise time was the same, because the muscle fibres still contract for a while after stopping exercise, the muscles were spending longer periods of time literally sucking glucose out of the blood to feed them.

Flattening those blood sugar spikes isn't just about better numbers on a lab printout – it's about protecting our organs so they function in an optimal way.

This new research confirms what many of us suspected for years – that even small amounts of walking to break up prolonged sitting is one of the most healthy activities you can do.

The evidence that even a small amount of walking can make a big difference was proven beyond doubt in a landmark study in 2023, where researchers at the University of Cambridge reviewed nearly 200 of the largest and best studies, monitoring more than 30 million adults, to answer a simple question: how little exercise can you do to see a benefit?

The... See more

Basically, the better your insulin works, the lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease and so on.

One of the earliest and most powerful insights on this came from a study of double-decker bus drivers and conductors in the 1950s. Researchers compared the health of the drivers, who sat for most of the day, with the ticket collectors, who climbed up and down the stairs checking fares.

The results were striking: the active conductors had far lower r... See more

The takeaway? While more activity brought more benefit, the biggest jump comes from doing something rather than nothing. It is true, however, that the faster you walk, the better, as numerous studies have shown – not just for your fitness, but for your brain.

Brain scans revealed that brisk walkers had larger, healthier hippocampi (the part of the brain involved in memory) and less white matter damage, meaning their brains were ageing better.

However, people who walked the most were 23 per cent less likely to develop chronic lower back pain than those who walked the least, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open last month.

The research monitored more than 11,000 adults (who all started out without back pain) for more than four years.

Crucially, the back-protecting benefit cam... See more

In one of the most striking new studies on this, researchers from the Department of Exercise and Sports Sciences at Manipal College of Health Professions in India put 28 healthy young adults through two experiments: they were asked to sit for two hours after lunch (a set-up that probably sounds familiar to anyone with a desk job).

However, on one da... See more