11 minutes of daily exercise could prevent premature deaths, study shows

Experts from the University of Cambridge have found completing 11 minutes of daily exercise could prevent one in 10 early deaths.

Published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers discovered that completing 11 minutes of exercise a day – whether this be running, walking, or cycling – equates to 75 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week. However, this is half of the 150 minutes that is recommended by the NHS.

Experts found completing exercise that is designed to speed up your heart rate and make you breath faster, although not so much that you cannot speak, substantially cuts the risk of early death, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers including those of the neck, head, and myeloid leukaemia.

To conduct their research, experts examined 196 peer-reviewed articles, covering more than 30 million participants from 94 large study cohorts. They then examined the association between levels of physical activity and the risk of heart disease, cancer and premature death.

Dr Søren Brage, from Cambridge’s Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit said: ‘If you are someone who finds the idea of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week a bit daunting, then our findings should be good news.

‘Doing some physical activity is better than doing none. This is also a good starting position – if you find that 75 minutes a week is manageable, then you could try stepping it up gradually to the full recommended amount.’

Completing 75 minutes of exercise per week lowered the risk of early death by 23%, reduced the risk of heart disease by 17% and cancer by 7%, researchers discovered.

Additionally, the study showed if individuals up their daily exercise to the NHS recommended amount, one in six (16%) of early deaths would be prevented.

Professor James Woodcock, from Cambridge University, said: ‘We know that physical activity, such as walking or cycling is good for you, especially if you feel it raises your heart rate.

‘But what we’ve found is there are substantial benefits to heart health and reducing your risk of cancer even if you can only manage 10 minutes every day.’

Photo by Jenny Hill