A cheering piece of research suggests that just 15 minutes of exercise a day – half the recommended amount in the UK – can boost life expectancy.
A study in Taiwan, reported in The Lancet, tracked more than 400,000 men and women over 12 years, and showed significant benefits from 15 minutes a day or 90 minutes a week of moderate exercise such as brisk walking. The UK government currently recommends that adults get 150 minutes of exercise a week.
The Taiwanese study found that compared with the inactive group in the study, the exercisers had a three-year longer life expectancy, and reduced their mortality risk by 14%.
Dr Chi-Pang Wen, lead author of the study, told ABC News that 30 minutes a day for five or more days a week remained the golden rule, but half that could still be very beneficial. “Finding a slot of 15 minutes is much easier than finding a 30-minute slot in most days of the week.”
The researchers also found that people who did some exercise tended to get a taste for it and do more – every additional 15 minutes reduced all cause death risks by another 4%.
England’s chief medical officer, Sally Davies, told the BBC the study would remind people there were many ways of getting exercise, “activities like walking at a good pace or digging the garden can count too”.
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