Five minutes more exercise and 30 minutes less sitting associated with longer life for millions

A study of about 135,000 people found that adding five minutes of moderate activity a day was associated with an estimated 10% reduction in premature deaths, and reducing sitting by 30 minutes a day was associated with an estimated 7% reduction; a separate analysis of nearly 60,000 UK Biobank participants linked small combined improvements in sleep, activity and diet with longer life.

New research reported in the Lancet and eClinicalMedicine finds that very small daily changes in movement, sitting time, sleep and diet were associated with lower rates of premature death. One analysis pooled data on about 135,000 people from the UK, US, Norway and Sweden and focused on moderate-intensity activity and sedentary time. A separate study used nearly 60,000 participants from the UK Biobank to examine combined changes in sleep, physical activity and diet. The study teams and outside experts noted the results describe potential population-level effects rather than personal medical advice. Key findings: - A Lancet analysis of roughly 135,000 people found that an extra five minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per day was associated with an estimated 10% reduction in premature deaths. - The same analysis reported that reducing sedentary time by 30 minutes a day was associated with an estimated 7% reduction in all-cause deaths. - The largest estimated benefit occurred when the least active 20% of the population increased their activity by five minutes a day. - Commentators not involved with the research described the analysis as an advance and noted that the suggested changes are modest and feasible for many people. - A second study in eClinicalMedicine using nearly 60,000 UK Biobank participants found that small combined improvements—such as an extra five minutes of sleep, two minutes of moderate to vigorous activity, and half a serving more vegetables—were associated with longer life for people with the poorest baseline behaviours. Summary: The studies indicate that modest, population-level shifts in everyday behaviours were linked with lower premature mortality and longer life in the datasets examined. Undetermined at this time.