Scientists say that just walking for an extra 10 minutes a day can extend your life
Researchers have found that walking an extra 10 minutes a day can extend your life.
A study of 5,000 middle-aged and elderly Americans found that the risk of dying from any cause decreased as exercise levels increased.
Just 10 minutes more of moderate activity each day – such as brisk walking – reduced deaths in 40- to 85-year-olds by 7% per year.
Researchers estimate a small lifestyle change could save 100,000 lives in the US each year.
According to a study by the US National Cancer Institute, exercising for an extra 20 minutes or 30 minutes a day will reduce the mortality rate by 13% and 17%, respectively.
Britons are advised to complete 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week, such as cycling.
Lead author Dr. Pedro Saint-Maurice said the findings support encouraging older adults to increase their activity.
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute estimated that increasing physical activity by 10 minutes a day would prevent 111,174 deaths in the US annually (6.9%). A 20-minute increase would cause the country’s death toll to drop by 209,459 people annually (13%), while a 30-minute increase would cause a decrease of 272,297 (16.9%)
“To our knowledge, this is the first study to estimate the number of preventable deaths through physical activity using accelerometer-based measurements in adults,” he said. in the United States, while recognizing that increased activity may not be possible for everyone.
The researchers examined the health and mortality records of 4,840 participants aged 40 to 85, collected from national databases, to find out if there was a small increase in levels whether their activities prevent death.
They measured moderate to vigorous physical activity based on data collected from volunteers who wore accelerometers for a week – a device that measures how active they are. .
Their estimate, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, found that increasing physical activity for 10 minutes a day would prevent 111,174 deaths across the US population annually (6.9%) ).
A 20-minute increase could result in a decrease in the country’s death toll by 209,459 people per year (13 percent), while a 30-minute increase would result in a decrease of 272,297 people (16.9%).
Office for National Statistics mortality data shows that in the UK this would reduce about 10,000 deaths with an extra 10 minutes of exercise.
Men would benefit the most from increased exercise, with 10 minutes a day reducing total deaths by 8%, while mortality among women would decrease by 5.9%, according to the study. assist.
Additionally, deaths would be reduced by 7.3% in whites, 4.8% in Mexican-Americans and 6.1% in non-Hispanic blacks, the researchers found.
The metric factor that increases physical activity won’t be possible for everyone, such as those considered sick or those who need equipment to walk.
Source: | This article originally belonged to Dailymail.co.uk