High-Intensity Exercise Cuts Type 2 Diabetes Risk by 60%, Study Finds

New research suggests that the intensity of your workout may be just as important as its duration in reducing the risk of major diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and dementia.

A study published on Sunday in the European Heart Journal found that even small amounts of vigorous exercise each day—amounting to just over 4% of total daily activity—can lead to meaningful health benefits. Vigorous exercise is defined as activity intense enough to make breathing difficult and limit speech to a few words at a time.

“In our study, even a small proportion of vigorous activity—just over 4% of total activity, which may translate to only a few minutes per day—was associated with meaningful health benefits,” said Minxue Shen, PhD, a professor at Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, China, and co-author of the research.

Activities like carrying heavy groceries or climbing stairs quickly can qualify as vigorous exercise. Compared to those who did no vigorous exercise, participants who engaged in it had a reduced risk of death (all-cause mortality), cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia, and other conditions.

“Vigorous exercise was associated with a 60% reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, according to the study.”

The researchers analyzed data from the UK Biobank, which includes health records for half a million adults in the United Kingdom. They examined two groups: approximately 96,000 participants who wore wrist-worn fitness trackers for 7 days and 375,000 participants who self-reported their activity.

The fitness trackers provided continuous movement data, allowing researchers to measure both the volume and intensity of physical activity. Participants were on average between 56 and 62 years old, with just over half being women. Vigorous exercise was defined as higher-intensity movement, such as running.

While the study is observational and does not establish causation, the findings align with prior research emphasizing that exercise intensity plays a critical role in long-term health outcomes. Physical activity guidelines often focus on total duration—recommending about 150 minutes per week for the average adult—but offer less guidance on exercise intensity.

For some conditions, such as immune-related diseases, the health benefits depended almost entirely on exercise intensity rather than volume.