Go hard to keep off the heft: that's the advice of University of Utah researchers, whose new study shows that brief high-intensity activity can have a positive effect on weight, as do longer durations of exercise.
In the US, the current recommendation is to get at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity a week, which can be accumulated in eight to 10 minute periods. But the researchers say shorter bouts - such as taking the stairs or walking between errands, for example - has comparable benefits. They found that each daily minute of higher-intensity activity lowered the odds of obesity by 5 per cent for women and 2 per cent for men.
Loading up on at least two servings each week of certain whole fruit - in particular blueberries, grapes or apples - can reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes by as much as 23 per cent, according to a new study led by the Harvard School of Public Health. Conversely, consuming one or more servings of fruit juice each day was found to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes by up to 21 per cent. The study, which involved nearly 190,000 people, was published online in BMJ (British Medical Journal).