Walking briskly for just 11 minutes a day can slash the chances of dying early by almost a quarter, a study found. One in ten premature deaths could be prevented if everyone managed at least half the recommended level of physical activity, it suggests.
Experts said the findings should stop people feeling daunted by exercise with it proving ‘doing some physical activity is better than doing none’. The NHS recommends adults do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity a week.
But a study by Cambridge University found doing just half of this substantially reduced a person’s risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer. Analysis of data involving more than 30 million people found 75 minutes per week of moderate-intensity activity – such as cycling, hiking or dancing – lowered the risk of an early death by 23 per cent.
Specifically, it cut the chances of developing cardiovascular disease – which can cause heart attacks and stroke – by 17 per cent and cancer by 7 per cent. Those who did more than the recommended levels had ‘marginal’ additional benefits, according to the findings published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
They observed that, outside of work-related physical activity, two out of three people reported activity levels below 150 minutes per week of moderate activity with fewer than one in 10 managing more than 300 minutes per week.
However, even if everyone managed at least 75 minutes per week of moderate-intensity physical activity, around one in 10 (10 per cent) early deaths would be prevented. One in 20 (5 per cent) cases of cardiovascular disease and nearly one in 30 (3 per cent) cases of cancer would be prevented, the analysis suggested.
