2 mins walk around office could help keep diabetes at bay

A new study suggests that taking a two-minute stroll around the office every half hour could save millions from the misery of diabetes.

Leaving the desk for a walkabout can have a bigger impact on your health than a brisk 30-minute walk before work, the Daily Express reported.

Anthony Barnett, Emeritus Professor of Medicine at the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, said lifestyle changes can significantly reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes, which is reaching epidemic proportions in Britain.

He said that short bursts of regular exercise in people with sedentary occupations appears to be at least as good as longer, but less frequent, periods of exercise in improving sugar and fat levels.

Scientists at Otago University in New Zealand found that volunteers who regularly walked for just one minute and 40 seconds had lower blood sugar and insulin levels.

Raised sugar and insulin readings are warning signs that Type 2 diabetes, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, could be setting in.

But the latest findings show that brief walkabouts could be all that is needed to lower the risks.

The study is published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.