Exercising at the weekend reduces the risk of hundreds of diseases

A new study on 90,000 adults in the UK found that those who cram their physical activity into Saturday and Sunday were at a reduced risk of 264 illnesses compared to those who weren't active at all.

The benefits of 'weekend warrior' exercising were about the same as those who worked out across the working week and the exercise pattern was found to lower the risk of depression, kidney problems and obesity for an average follow-up period of six years.

Dr Shaan Khurshid, lead author of the study at Massachusetts General Hospital, said: "Our findings were consistent across many different definitions of weekend warrior activity, as well as other thresholds used to categorise people as active.

"Because there appears to be similar benefits for weekend warrior versus regular activity, it may be the total volume of activity, rather than the pattern, that matters most."

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