Dr Soren Brage, based at Cambridge’s Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit, said her team’s findings “should be good news” for a lot of people. Pooling data from 196 peer-reviewed papers, involving 94 large cohorts, the researchers came across an interesting trend. People who engaged in half the recommended amount of exercise per week still reaped “substantial benefits” to their health.
By completing 75 minutes of exercise each week – the equivalent to around 10 minutes of movement each day – the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer is reduced.
According to the research, doing around 10 minutes of exercise each day could reduce cardiovascular risk by 17 percent and cancer risk by seven percent.
Rates of specific cancer risks – including head and neck, blood, and bone marrow cancers – fell by 14 to 26 percent.
Tumours that began in the lung, liver, womb, bowel and breast dropped by three to eleven per cent.
Dr Brage said: “If you find that 75 minutes a week is manageable, then you could try stepping it up gradually to the full recommended amount.”
Whatever you do, “doing some physical activity is better than doing none”, said Dr Brage.
Co-author Professor James Woodcock said: “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.”
Dr Leandro Garcia, from Queen’s University Belfast, added: “Moderate activity doesn’t have to involve what we normally think of exercise, such as sports or running.
“Sometimes, replacing some habits is all that is needed. For example, try to walk or cycle to your work or study place instead of using a car.
“Doing activities that you enjoy and that are easy to include in your weekly routine is an excellent way to become more active.”
Activities that count:
- Brisk walking
- Dancing
- Riding a bike
- Playing tennis
- Hiking.
The NHS says exercise is the “miracle cure” people have been wishing for.
There are so many benefits to exercise, from reducing stroke risk to lowering blood sugar levels.
“Whatever your age, there’s strong scientific evidence that being physically active can help you lead a healthier and happier life,” the NHS says.
Benefits of exercise include lowering the risk of:
- Coronary heart disease and stroke
- Type 2 diabetes
- Bowel cancer
- Breast cancer in women
- Early death
- Osteoarthritis
- Hip fracture
- Falls (among older adults)
- Depression
- Dementia.
The NHS clarifies: “For any type of activity to benefit your health, you need to be moving quick enough to raise your heart rate, breathe faster and feel warmer.
“This level of effort is called moderate intensity activity. If you’re working at a moderate intensity you should still be able to talk but you won’t be able to sing the words to a song.”
Working any harder is considered “vigorous-intensity activity”, which can be even more beneficial to your health.
The research is published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
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