Stepping it up for 5 minutes can cut risk of early death

BRISK walking for an extra five minutes a day can reduce the risk of early death by 10%.

- BY MARTIN BAGOT

The Lancet study tracked 95,000 middle-aged and older adults in the UK as well as 40,000 people from Norway, Sweden and the US.

Data from the UK Biobank arm of the study also showed cutting our sedentary time by 30 minutes a day could reduce 4.5% of deaths, except for participants who were already very active.

The research, led by the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, showed an extra 10 minutes of moderate exercise was linked to a 15% reduction in deaths.

Vigorous

It comes amid fears that older people who are generally inactive can give up on exercise and not realise a little can go a long way.