Adding just five minutes of walking each day could significantly reduce your risk of early death, according to a groundbreaking new study. This research highlights that even small increases in moderate-intensity physical activity can have a major impact on longevity, regardless of your current fitness level. The study, published in The Lancet, suggests that incorporating an extra five to ten minutes of brisk walking daily can lead to substantial health benefits. Lead author Ulf Ekelund stated that if everyone in the population adopted these minor changes, up to ten percent of all deaths could be prevented. This emphasizes the power of incremental lifestyle adjustments.
What is moderate-intensity physical activity? It generally refers to activities that raise your heart rate and make you breathe harder, such as brisk walking, cycling on level ground, or dancing. The key is that you can still talk but not sing during the activity.
The researchers analyzed data from over 135,000 adults across the United States, Norway, and Sweden, utilizing data from tracking devices to measure physical activity and sedentary time. Participants, averaging 64 years old, were followed for approximately eight years. This extensive data set allowed for robust estimations of preventable deaths associated with changes in activity levels.
Previous research often focused on meeting the World Health Organization’s recommendations for adults, which include at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week. However, this new analysis specifically investigated the impact of smaller, more achievable daily increases in activity and reductions in sitting time.
For the majority of adults who currently engage in about 17 minutes of moderate-intensity activity daily, adding an extra five minutes could decrease all-cause mortality by ten percent. An additional ten minutes showed a fifteen percent reduction.
Even for less active individuals, who get only about two minutes of moderate activity per day, an extra five minutes of activity could result in a six percent reduction in early deaths, with ten extra minutes leading to a nine percent reduction.
Reducing sedentary time also proved to be a significant factor in increasing lifespan. Adults who spend an average of ten hours a day sitting can see an estimated seven percent reduction in all deaths by cutting out just thirty minutes of inactivity. Reducing sedentary time by a full hour could lead to a thirteen percent decrease.
For those with the most sedentary lifestyles, spending twelve hours a day inactive, reducing this by thirty minutes could still lead to a three percent decrease in mortality. This underscores that any reduction in sitting time is beneficial.
Experts like Dr. Bethany Barone Gibbs, who was not involved in the study, agree that public health messages about “every minute counts” are important. However, she notes that this study provides crucial insight into the significant impact of much smaller, more attainable changes, like just five extra minutes of activity per day.
Incorporating more movement into your daily routine doesn’t always require a gym membership or an intensive workout. Simple activities like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, cycling for short trips, or even vigorous household chores like scrubbing floors or gardening can contribute significantly.
Other enjoyable ways to increase your activity include strolling after dinner, playing softball, golfing and walking the course, mowing the lawn, or engaging in a casual bike ride. These activities can be easily integrated into a busy schedule.
For those seeking more vigorous options, hiking, weight lifting, climbing, playing tennis, swimming, rowing, jumping rope, and running are excellent choices. The key is to find activities that you enjoy and can sustain.
Beyond longevity, increased physical activity is also linked to a reduced risk of chronic diseases, such as diabetes. While more vigorous activity may offer greater benefits for blood sugar levels, all forms of physical activity contribute positively to metabolic health.
While this observational study demonstrates a strong correlation between increased activity and longer life, the authors acknowledge that further research is needed to definitively establish causation. Nevertheless, the robustness of the findings, due to the large sample size and objective activity measurements, provides compelling evidence for the benefits of even small increases in daily movement.
This research strongly supports the idea that adding just five minutes of activity daily is a fantastic starting point and is undeniably better than maintaining a sedentary lifestyle. Small amounts of activity truly do matter for overall health and well-being.
