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Make sure to go for a brisk walk daily, for a new study says a brisk
20-minute walk each day can add years to your life.
Researchers at University of Cambridge have carried out a study
analysing over 334,000 European men and women and found that brisk
walking for 20 minutes daily can actually make a difference.
The study also found that twice as many deaths may be attributable to
lack of physical activity compared with the number of deaths
attributable to obesity.
Professor Ulf Ekelund from the Medical Research Council (MRC)
epidemiology unit at University of Cambridge was quoted as saying: “We
found that just 20 minutes would make a difference. Physical activity
has many proven health benefits and should be an important part of our
daily life”.
For this, researchers analysed data across Europe participating in the
European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)
Study.
Over an average of 12 years, the researchers measured height, weight
and waist circumference and used self-assessment to measure levels of
physical activity.
The researchers found that the greatest reduction in risk of premature
death occurred in the comparison between inactive and moderately
inactive groups, judged by combining activity at work with
recreational activity.
“Doing exercise equivalent to just a 20 minute brisk walk each day
would take an individual from the inactive to moderately inactive
group and reduce their risk of premature death by between 16-30
percent,” the authors noted.
The impact was greatest among normal weight individuals but even those
with higher BMI saw a benefit.
Using the most recent available data on deaths in Europe, the team
estimated that 337,000 of the 9.2 million deaths amongst European men
and women were attributable to obesity.
However, double this number of deaths (676,000) could be attributed to
physical inactivity.
“Encouraging people to make small but achievable changes in physical
activity can have significant health benefits and may be easier to
achieve and maintain,” added professor Nick Wareham, director of the
MRC Unit.
The results were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Credit: Zee Media Bureau
