In the study published in the medical journal the Lancet this month, researchers estimated how small, achievable changes in physical activity might help prevent deaths in the population. They used data from more than 135,000 adults in Europe and the United States who wore activity trackers for several years.
Walking briskly — a pace of about 3 to 4.5 mph — for an extra five minutes every day was linked to an estimated 10 percent fewer deaths in the follow-up period — an average of 8.2 years. Researchers also found that the least active people are likely to get the most benefit, with five extra minutes linked to an estimated 6 percent fewer deaths in this group. And reducing inactivity by at least 30 minutes every day was linked to 7 percent fewer deaths in the follow-up period.
“Every movement counts, and as soon as you start doing any activity, you have so many different physiological changes in the body,” said Ulf Ekelund, a professor of physical activity and health at the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences and lead author of the Lancet study.
Ekelund noted how physical activity affects the immune system, reduces the risk of inflammation, and may reduce blood pressure, among other health benefits. All of those changes are then associated with a reduction in risk of major chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, which are “the major killers in Western societies,” he said.
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