Scientists Define "Very Low Level" of Exercise That Lowers Risk of Death

Authored by inverse.com and submitted by CyborgTomHanks

In November, scientists identified the smallest amount of exercise needed to improve brain function. Now, in an effort to help us keep changing our habits as little as possible while maximizing health benefits, another study has even better news. An analysis in The British Medical Journal reports that incredibly short amounts of very easy exercise can have powerful effects.

Specifically, these researchers in China showed that activities like gardening, walking, or dancing in a non-vigorous, leisurely way for between 10 minutes and an hour per week was associated with an 18 percent lower risk of death compared to people who did nothing. And the more time people spent doing these chill exercises, the better they fared. People who went above and beyond and did at least 150 minutes per week (that’s at least 30 minutes every weekday) had a 34 percent lower risk of death over the course of the study.

In the paper, lead study author Dr. Bo Xi, an associate professor at Shangdong University’s School of Public Health, and his co-authors write that their findings drive home one major point: All exercise, even the smallest, easiest amount, can have lasting benefits. A 10-minute easy workout may not help you outrun a marathoner, but it may help you outrun death.

Brisk walking or other leisure activities may have more health benefits than we thought

“Currently, about 51% US adults fail to meet the recommendation for physical activity” they write. “Very low levels of physical activity, such as about 5–10 min/day may be easy to achieve by most adults.”

This study drew on data from 12 editions of the National Health Interview survey between 1997 and 2008. In total 88,140 people between 40 and 85 years old answered those surveys, providing information about their health, how much leisure activity they did per week, and how much vigorous activity — like organized sports or running hard. When the authors adjusted for factors like how much hard exercise the participants did as well as other risk factors like BMI, smoking, or alcohol use, they still found that as little as 10 minutes per week of leisurely exercise was still associated with decreased risk of death.

But they make it clear that for anyone who wants to step it up, they can aim higher. Going harder, they report, has “added benefits” for reducing mortality — though they don’t specifically put a percentage on it. It’s also just more time-effective. In their analysis they equate one minute of vigorous activity with roughly two minutes of leisure activity — which is echoed in the World Health Organization’s Guidelines as well. The WHO’s guidelines suggest people perform at least 150 minutes of of moderate intensity aerobic exercise per week, which they list as walking, dancing, gardening, or swimming — or attempt 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week. This study’s findings are right in line with those guidelines, but they also give people a bit more wiggle room.

Even if you’re not planning on going for the full 150 minutes, moving even just a little bit can have an impact down the line.

Baskatillian on March 20th, 2019 at 00:47 UTC »

"associated with an 18 percent lower risk of death". So, its related to, but not directly responsible for? Did I read that right?

mrbooze on March 20th, 2019 at 00:46 UTC »

Is it likely that someone who is not managing even 10 minutes of walking per week is already in some sort of poor or declining health?

BerriesAndMe on March 19th, 2019 at 23:54 UTC »

How do you live a life where you get in less than 10min walking per week? Just going to the bathroom should cover that.