Skip to content

Health

Live longer with 15 minutes exercise a day

by Gracie Valena 21 Aug 2011
Live longer with 15 minutes exercise a day
etadshow468 -->

The standard belief is that people must exercise for at least 30 minutes for any real health benefits to kick in. Now there's good news for those who don't have even 30 minutes to spare: just 15 minutes of exercise every day can make your life longer by up to three years.

The article published in the medical journal The Lancet reports on an observational study of 416,175 Taiwanese participants between 1996 and 2008. The subjects were part of a standard medical screening program of Taiwan's MJ Health Management Institution. They were observed for eight years on average.

Dr. Xifeng Wu, senior author of the study, explained in a press release from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center that "Exercising at very light levels reduced deaths from any cause by 14 percent."

She added "The benefits of exercise appear to be significant even without reaching the recommended 150 minutes per week based on results of previous research."

Dr. Chi-Pang Wen, lead author of the study, noted that exercising cut a person's risk of death - from any cause - by 4 percent for every additional 15 minutes of exercise up to 100 minutes a day.

Thus, exercising 30 minutes daily adds about four years to life expectancy. This life-lengthening effect was found in all ages regardless of gender.

Another way of calculating the effect is that if people who are inactive perform low-volume daily exercise, one out of every six deaths could be postponed by their reduced risk of dying.

Participants' medical history and lifestyle were evaluated and occupational effects were taken into account.

Other factors considered were age, sex and level of education; physical labor at work; smoking and alcohol use; fasting blood sugar, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, body mass index, diabetes, hypertension and cancer history.

The study found that about half of the participants were inactive - defined as having less than an hour of leisure time physical activity per week. Others were classified as low, medium, high or very high based on the duration and intensity of their exercise.

Those who engaged in low-volume exercise had lower death rates than inactive people regardless of age, gender, tobacco and alcohol use, health status, including cardiovascular disease risk.

Dr. Wu said that the findings are probably going to be true for other populations. She said that "These findings can stimulate people to exercise as much as they can and to not be frustrated that they can't reach the 30 minute per day guideline."

The exercise project was funded by the Taiwan Department of Health Clinical Trial and Research Center of Excellence and the Taiwan National Health Research Institutes.

Top Image Credit: © Andres


Trending Eco-Friendly Clothing

Love My Planet Women's Relaxed Fit Hoodie
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Love My Planet Women's Relaxed Fit Hoodie
Love My Planet women's eco-friendly relaxed fit hoodieSize Guide Centimeters 8 10 12 14 16 18 Bust 84 88 92 97 103 108 Waist 66 70 75 80 85 91 Hips 91 95 99 104 109 116 Bust: Measure around the fullest part of...
£38.00
£38.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Penguins Hate Push-Ups Men's Pullover Hoodie
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Penguins Hate Push-Ups Men's Pullover Hoodie
Penguins Hate Push-Ups men's eco-friendly pullover HoodieSize Guide Centimeters XS S M L XL XXL Height 171 175 179 183 189 195 Chest 86 93 99 104 116 129 Waist 71 76 81 89 99 112 Chest: Measure all round your chest just below...
£38.00
£38.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Lightning Bolt Kids Long Sleeve T-Shirt
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Notify me
Lightning Bolt Kids Long Sleeve T-Shirt
Lightning Bolt kids eco-friendly long sleeve t-shirtSize Guide Centimeters 3-4yrs 5-6yrs 7-8yrs 9-10yrs 11-12yrs Height 98 112 125 136 147 Chest 60 66 70 75 84 Chest: Measure all around your chest just below your armpits. Height: Your natural height If you fall between...
£18.00
£18.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Notify me
Union Jack Tote Bag
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Union Jack Tote Bag
Union Jack eco-friendly colour tote bagProduct Specification Organic Cotton Tote Bag. Twill Weave (170gsm). 37 x 42 cm (7cm gusset.) Made in India / Designed on the Isle of Wight. Wash Cool, Hang Dry.
£16.00
£16.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Prev Post
Next Post

Eco-Friendly Shop

Women's Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothing for Women Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable women’s clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies, vests, sweaters, shorts, and...
Shop Now

Men's Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothing for Men Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable men’s clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies, vests, sweaters, shorts, and...
Shop Now

Kids Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothes for Kids Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable kids clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies and jumpers. Our garments...
Shop Now
Someone recently bought a
[time] ago, from [location]

Thanks for subscribing!

This email has been registered!

Shop the look

Choose Options

Earth Times
Sign up for exclusive updates, new arrivals & insider only discounts

Recently Viewed

Edit Option
Back In Stock Notification
this is just a warning
Login
Shopping Cart
0 items

Before you leave...

Take 20% off your first order

20% off

Enter the code below at checkout to get 20% off your first order

CODESALE20

Continue Shopping