You don’t have to be a runner or play sport to feel the benefits of exercise—fitting a brisk walk into your day is good enough, UK analysis suggests.
Studies found if everyone did as little as 11 minutes of daily activity, one in 10 premature deaths could be prevented.
Yet, most people don’t manage to do the minimum recommended 150 minutes of exercise a week, however.
But doing some exercise is better than doing nothing, the researchers from the University of Cambridge say.
Recommendations are for everyone to do150-300 minutes of physical activity that raises the heart rate every week or 75-150 minutes of vigorous activity per week, which makes you breathe hard.
The research team looked at hundreds of previous studies on the benefits of physical activity and concluded that even doing half the recommended amount could prevent one in 20 cases of cardiovascular disease and nearly one in 30 cases of cancer.
That equates to 75 minutes per week—or 11 minutes per day—riding a bike, walking fast, hiking, dancing or playing tennis.“You should feel yourself moving, your heart will beat faster but you won’t necessarily feel out of breath,” says Dr Soren Brage, who led the research. Doing that amount is enough to reduce the risk of developing heart disease and stroke by 17% and cancer by 7%, the findings suggest.
By Philippa Roxby • Source: BBC
