Everyday activities like walking up the stairs or playing with children could help lower the risk of heart attack, stroke and even premature death, new research suggests. The experts found that although short bouts of incidental activity are good for you, the how long you do them for, and how vigorously makes a difference. The findings may make physical activity much more accessible to people who are unwilling or unable to take part in structured exercise, researchers say. They found that the longer the bouts of activity, the better, regardless of total activity levels. The large majority (97%) of this everyday physical activity, like walking to the bus stop or household chores, was made up in bouts lasting less than 10 minutes. In a group of people who said they did not take part in exercise or sport, short bouts of less than 10 minutes at a moderate to vigorous intensity were associated with a steep decrease in heart attack and stroke, and death by any cause. According to the findings, moving consistently for at least one to three minutes was linked to significantly more benefit (29% lower) than very short bouts of movement that lasted less than one minute. Senior author Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis from the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre, in Australia, said: “From walking up the stairs to speedily mopping the floors, in recent years we’ve come to understand that it is not just structured exercise that is good for our health, but we know very little about how these short bouts of incidental activity translate to health benefits.” He added: “The take-home message here is any type of activity is good for your health, but the more effort you put into those daily tasks and the longer you keep up that energy, the more benefits you are likely to reap. “If you are huffing and puffing and unable to hold a conversation for some of that time you have hit the sweet spot.” Lead author Dr Matthew Ahmadi said: “The idea of accruing short bouts of moderate to vigorous activity through daily living activities makes physical activity much more accessible to people who are unwilling or unable to take part in structured exercise. But as we see in this data, the length and the vigour people put into these incidental activities matters.” The risk of all-cause death and major cardiovascular events (heart attack or stroke) was 29-44% lower for activity periods of five minutes to less than 10 minutes, than bouts of less than one minute. The study, published in The Lancet Public Health, also found that the higher the amount of vigorous activity in each bout the better. People who huffed and puffed for at least 15% of the activity period (10 seconds per minute) saw the greatest benefit. Bouts of less than one minute were also associated with benefits if the above 15% vigorous activity rule was applied, researchers found. The researchers used data from wrist devices worn by 25,241 people aged 42 to 78, in the UK Biobank database, and artificial intelligence to analyse the seven-day physical activity patterns in people who said they did not exercise. The study linked these physical activity patterns with health records, following people for close to eight years to identify how length and intensity of physical activity bouts were linked to health status. Dr Ahmadi added: “This study suggests people could potentially reduce their risk of major cardiac events by engaging in daily living activities of at least moderate intensity where they are ideally moving continuously for at least one to three minutes at a time. “In fact, it appears that this can have comparable health benefits to longer bouts lasting five to 10 minutes.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live From tiredness to sweating – subtle warning signs something could be wrong with your heart Breast Cancer Awareness Month: 9 brilliant beauty buys supporting good causes Smokers 2.6 times more likely to give birth prematurely

Internet access across the war-torn nation of Yemen have collapsed without explanation

Shawty Bae previously disclosed that she has Bell's Palsy which is a medical condition that causes temporary paralysis on one side of the face

Texas is moving ahead with preparations to execute a condemned inmate in hopes that the U.S. Supreme Court will lift a lower court’s stay and allow the lethal injection to proceed

The Split and Four Weddings and a Funeral star Anna Chancellor has announced the death of her only daughter, Poppy, aged 36. On Saturday (30 September), the actor shared the sad news that Poppy had died from leukaemia on Friday (29 September) on her daughter’s Instagram page. “To all you wonderful and most-loved friends of Poppy. We send you this message with our deepest love,” the heartfelt statement began. “On September 29 Poppy died, held tight by her immediate family just as she had wished. “Despite every effort, her body could not continue any longer. We will be forever grateful to her kind and loving care team at the Royal Marsden. So we, her family and friends who all adore her join the other families who have lost loved ones far too young.” The message added that her family would continue to support her “soul’s journey”, before continuing: “Poppy was and is an unbelievable life force of creativity, compassion, wit, beauty and sheer uniqueness. She transformed our lives, and we are beyond grateful.” Poppy was born in 1988 to Chancellor and the poet Jock Scot. She was an illustrator and artist who had worked for brands such as Adidas and Cath Kidston. According to the Daily Mail, King Charles is rumoured to own one of Poppy’s artworks, given to him as a thank-you after she attended an artists’ residence at his stately home, Dumfries House, in Ayrshire. In May, Poppy spoke to the publication ahead of undergoing chemotherapy. She said: “I am terrified and physically exhausted – at the same time as learning to talk to my body and cells with loving defiance.” Poppy had been keeping her social media followers updated on her health. As well as sharing videos of herself dancing, which she dubbed “the best medicine”, Poppy recently posted an image of herself in a hospital bed after a stem cell transplant in August. Anna Chancellor has acted on screen since 1990, beginning with a role in the soap opera Jupiter Moon. In the Nineties, Chancellor was known for playing barrister Julia Piper in the legal drama series Kavanagh QC as well as playing Caroline Bingley in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Other recognisable roles include Henrietta “Duckface” in Four Weddings and a Funeral, Lady Anstruther on Downton Abbey, and Melanie Aickman in seasons two and three of the BBC family law drama The Split. Poppy was Chancellor’s only child. Read More Billy Connolly says ‘cruel’ Parkinson’s disease has made it difficult to walk Fred Sirieix shares details of medical procedures to ‘investigate’ recent blood tests David Beckham explains why he never sought therapy after 1998 World Cup match left him ‘depressed’ Billy Connolly says ‘cruel’ Parkinson’s disease has made it difficult to walk Fred Sirieix shares details of medical procedures to ‘investigate’ recent blood tests David Beckham explains why he never sought therapy after 1998 England match

For some Ukrainian women, painting has become a form of therapy to help them cope with the loss of their partners who died in the war

By Andrew Osborn and Olzhas Auyezov (Reuters) -Ukrainian missiles struck the Chonhar road bridge connecting Crimea with Russian-held parts of

Vice President Kamala Harris has said she knows of young people choosing which college they want to attend based on how restrictive the abortion laws are in that state. Commenting in an interview for the Roe v Wade retrospective on MSNBC’s The ReidOut, Ms Harris said her goddaughter told her that her friends wanted to attend schools in states where there was more freedom in terms of reproductive rights. Ms Harris told the roundtable: “When the decision came down she told me ‘Do you know what’s happening? My friends – whatever gender – are starting to make decisions about where they will actually go to college depending on what’s happening in that state.’” “Because of course, if you look at it, I think the number is something like 23 million women of reproductive age live in states that have banned abortion, and what that is gonna mean for those 23 million, for the myriad of health care issues that are at stake ... It’s having a real impact on all types of decisions people make,” she added. The show took a look back at the decision to overturn the landmark Roe v Wade decision that legalised abortion in the US in 1973 when the Supreme Court ruled that “unduly restrictive state regulation of abortion is unconstitutional”. In 2022, the Supreme Court, packed with three Trump-era appointees, overturned Roe v Wade and returned decisions on abortion freedom to the states. Since then, a number of states have introduced effective abortion bans that limit the procedure to the very early days of pregnancy – often before women are aware they are pregnant. Some states have also criminalised assisting women with accessing abortion, and limited abortion to cases of rape or incest. Ms Harris said that the Supreme Court’s decision last year had infringed on women’s rights. “The idea that the highest court in our land just did that and rolled back rights that had been recognized was incredibly shocking,” she said on MSNBC. She said that after she learned the news of the ruling, she called her husband and shared some “words not meant for television at this moment”. Ms Harris went on to say that the ruling means that some have to “suffer in silence,” the thought of which made her “angry and sad”. Read More Where abortion laws stand in every state a year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe A year after fall of Roe, 25 million women live in states with abortion bans or tighter restrictions Judge to weigh suspending Wyoming's first-in-the-nation ban on abortion pills US prepares for potential end of Roe v Wade - live When will there be a Roe v Wade decision? Why these prosecutors are refusing to enforce anti-abortion laws

A 15-year-old Palestinian girl, Sadeel Naghniyeh, was killed by suspected Israeli fire when a raid into the refugee camp last week ignited the fiercest Israeli-Palestinian fighting in years

Another key highlight of the video was Nikki Haley’s reaction to DeSantis stooping forward to get a touch-up

England survived a huge scare in the Rugby World Cup on Saturday, coming from behind courtesy of a late Danny...

The Court of Appeal has ruled the government's Rwanda policy is unlawful.