Cramming exercise into the weekends has similar health benefits to regular weekday gym sessions

Exercising only at the weekends is enough to lower the risk of developing more than 200 health conditions, scientists have found.

A study of nearly 90,000 Brits found people who cram all their workouts at the weekend - known as weekend warriors - enjoy similar benefits as those who spread their exercise throughout the week.

It lowered their risk of conditions from heart disease and mood disorders to kidney issues and obesity. The team said its findings, published in the journal Circulation, suggest the total amount of exercise is more important than timings.

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Researcher Dr Shaan Khurshid, of Massachusetts General Hospital in the US, said: "Physical activity is known to affect risk of many diseases. Here, we show the potential benefits of weekend warrior activity for risk not only of cardiovascular diseases, as we've shown in the past, but also future diseases spanning the whole spectrum, ranging from conditions like chronic kidney disease to mood disorders and beyond."

The NHS guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate exercise, such as brisk walking or riding a bike, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, such as running or hill cycling, per week. Being inactive is associated with one in six deaths in the UK and is estimated to cost the UK £7.4 billion annually.

Being busy during the working week means many office workers are only able to be active one or two days a week.

Researchers looked at data from 89,573 people from the UK Biobank, a database which holds medical and lifestyle records of more than half a million Britons. Those taking part wore activity trackers and were classed as ‘weekend warrior’, ‘regular’ or ‘inactive’, based on their weekly movement.

The team said that compared to no exercise, cramming workouts in one to two days or being active throughout the week were both associated with "substantially lower risks of over 200 diseases".

Those who exercised regularly during the week had a 28% lower list of developing high blood pressure while those who were active only at the weekends at a 23% lower risk. For diabetes, the risk was 43% lower for weekend warriors and 46% lower for those who exercised during the week, the researchers said.