THURSDAY, Aug. 22, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Exercise, even a little of it, can lengthen your life, a new study suggests.
The Norwegian researchers also found that too much sitting was associated with a higher risk of early death.
“Developing ways to limit sedentary time and increase activity at any level could considerably improve health and reduce mortality,” the study authors concluded.
In the study, the team analyzed data from eight studies that included more than 36,000 adults, aged 40 and older, who were followed for an average of almost six years.
A similarly steep decline in death rates was associated with increasing amounts of light physical activity up to about 300 minutes (5 hours) a day, and moderate-intensity physical activity of about 24 minutes per day.
The largest difference in early death risk (about 60% to 70%) was between the least and most physically active, with about five times more deaths among inactive people than among those who were most active, according to the report.
The report was published Aug. 21 in the BMJ.
The findings add to evidence that any amount of physical activity — whether light, moderate or high-intensity — is beneficial and likely achievable for many people, according to Ulf Ekelund, a professor at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences in Oslo, and colleagues.
Read more at WebMD