STEP LIVELY

Walking for five more minutes a day can 'cut risk of early death by 10%

- MARTIN BAGOT

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

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 per cent 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 per cent cut in deaths.