2 April 2013-You already know that getting 30 minutes of aerobic activity at least five times a week has major health benefits.
Now, new research shows that tallying up that much-or even less-regular exercise may extend your life. In a large study, US-based researchers at the National Cancer Institute found that people with a high activity level, about what you’d get from walking briskly for an hour daily, lived 4.5 years longer than their more sedentary peers.
Before you roll your eyes about anyone who has an extra hour a day, get this: those who had a low activity level, equal to walking 75 minutes a week-just over 10 minutes daily-lived almost two years longer than non-exercisers.
Extra kilos weren’t a factor; people of all weights reaped similar benefits. What does matter is making time to exercise. The study didn’t look at incidental activities such as housecleaning or running errands-it focussed on leisure-time workouts, like walking or playing sports. “If you want to live longer, any physical activity is good,” says Steven Moore, PhD, the study’s lead author. “But more is better.”
INDIA TODAY
