A group of Taiwanese doctors concluded that even 15 minutes of physical activity a day has a beneficial effect on health.
The article published in the Lancet journal by a group of Taiwan doctors headed by Dr. Chi-Pan Wen, representing the National Institute of Medical Research, and Jackson Pui Man Wei from the Taiwan National Sports University, argues that even short daily exercise improves health and increases life expectancy.
The arguments are weighty: this is the data for 416,175 residents of Taiwan, from 1996 to 2008, participating in screening programs lasting an average of 8 years.
Regularly surveyed people were divided into five groups depending on their physical activity (not exercising at all, exercising a little, medium, a lot and a lot). The researchers calculated the risk of death and the expected life expectancy for each group.
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physical activity[/caption]Compared with the completely immobile, the slow-moving Taiwanese who spent only 92 minutes a week (just over 15 minutes a day) had a 14% less risk of dying from arbitrary causes and 10% less from cancer. Their life expectancy was on average three years higher. Every additional 15 minutes of exercise per day, according to the calculations of doctors, reduced the probability of death by 4% and the probability of death from cancer by 1%. This pattern was true for both sexes and any age.
Researchers hope that the dissemination of information will give people who waved their hand, understand that not everything is lost, and get up from the sofas to make small but significant efforts.