Most people struggle to get the recommended 30 to 60 minutes of daily exercise, but new study findings may motivate you to lace up your sneakers.
Researchers from Taiwan's National Health Research Institutes have found that dedicating 15 minutes a day to a moderate form of exercise, like brisk walking, can benefit anyone - men, women, young, old, healthy and unhealthy individuals.
The findings were published yesterday in the medical journal The Lancet. The study tracked over 416,000 participants for 13 years, analysing their health records and reported levels of physical activity each year.
After taking into account differences in age, weight, sex and a range of health-related indicators, they found that just 15 minutes of moderate exercise a day increased life expectancy by three years compared to those who remained inactive.
Daily exercise was also linked to a lower risk of cancer and appeared to reduce cancer-related deaths. Compared to the inactive group, the 15 minute exercise group were 10 percent less likely to die of cancer.
These findings were consistent with similar studies in the past using Caucasian participants, but this was the first study to come up with the minimum level of exercise necessary.
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