Questions to ask yourself … to be healthier this year

Dr Karan Rajan, NHS surgeon, lecturer and author of This Book May Save Your Life, on how to improve your mental and physical wellbeing

I’m not a believer in setting lofty targets or an all-or-nothing approach. There’s evidence that even if you increase your number of steps from a baseline of 1,000 a day to walk an extra 2,000 a day, it’s associated with reduced cardiovascular disease. A recent study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggested that doing up to four minutes of vigorous exercise a day, whether that’s walking briskly up the stairs or carrying heavy shopping, halved stroke cardiovascular disease risk in middle-aged and older women. Doing something more than you already are is a great starting point.

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