The study, published in the journal Diabetes Care, examined data from more than 22,700 adults who did not engage in regular leisure-time exercise. None reported participating in leisure-time exercise at the outset and all were free of type 2 diabetes when the study began. Those who managed a median of just 3.9 minutes per day of vigorous incidental activity saw their risk fall by 36 per cent compared with individuals who recorded none at all. Around 10.4 vigorous bouts daily corresponded to a 36 per cent lower risk, while the greatest reduction for moderate-to-vigorous episodes emerged at roughly 56 bouts per day. The researchers wrote that "this evidence highlights the potential of incidental physical activity to offer a practical alternative for adults who do not exercise regularly."