Just five extra minutes of exercise and half an hour less sitting each day can help millions of people live longer. That is shown by new research highlighting the potentially enormous benefits of making just small lifestyle changes.

In a study led by the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences with 135,000 people from the UK, USA, Norway, and Sweden, it was found that moderate physical activity, like a brisk walk for an additional five minutes per day, was associated with an estimated ten percent reduction in deaths.

The researchers also found that reducing sedentary time by 30 minutes a day was associated with an estimated seven percent decrease in all-cause mortality.

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The biggest benefit was seen if the least active 20 percent of the population increased their activity by five minutes each day. The authors emphasized that while the results shouldn’t be used as personal advice, they demonstrated potentially great benefits for the population as a whole.

Small Changes

According to Professor Aiden Doherty at the Nuffield Department of Population Health at Oxford University, who was not involved in the study, the “excellent” research is “a leap forward” compared to existing evidence.

– While this may seem like just another study saying “more physical activity is good for you,” the authors have added important new details, he says.

– This study shows that up to ten percent of all premature deaths could be prevented if everyone made small and realistic increases of five minutes a day of moderately intense physical activity. Reducing sitting time by 30 minutes a day would likely result in a smaller, but still meaningful, number of avoided deaths.

So far, evidence for reducing premature deaths has assumed that everyone must achieve specific targets and has overlooked the benefits of even smaller increases in physical activity.

Possible for Most People

He is joined in this view by Daniel Bailey, associate professor in sedentary behavior and health at Brunel University London, who finds it “really promising” that just five extra minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per day could save lives.

– This should be achievable for most people, even those who already only do very small amounts of physical activity, he says.

– Moderate activities are those that make us breathe a bit heavier and feel warmer. So simple daily activities like a brisk walk, housework, or gardening are enough. And if we want to cut down sitting by 30 minutes a day, this can be swapped for lighter activities like pottering around the house or a gentle walk.

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