Walking 11 minutes a day could stop 10% of early deaths

According to a new study, an 11-minute brisk walk daily could prevent one in 10 premature deaths worldwide. This equates to 75 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week; half of the NHS recommended weekly 150 minutes. The results of the study were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Cambridge University experts found that brisk walking, dancing, riding a bike, playing tennis or hiking can all substantially cut the risks of early death, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers, including those of the head and neck and myeloid leukemia.
As per the largest-ever pooled data analysis, one in 10 early deaths could be avoided if everyone met just half the recommended weekly target of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity. Moderate-intensity physical activity is defined as activity that raises the heart rate and makes people breathe faster, but not so fast they can’t speak.
Dr Søren Brage, of Cambridge’s Medical Research Council (MRC) epidemiology unit said, “If you are someone who finds the idea of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week a bit daunting, then our findings should be good news. Doing some physical activity is better than doing none. This is also a good starting position – if you find that 75 minutes a week is manageable, then you could try stepping it up gradually to the full recommended amount.”
Researchers looked at 196 peer-reviewed articles, covering more than 30 million participants from 94 large study cohorts. They then examined the association between levels of physical activity and the risk of heart disease, cancer and early death. They found accumulating 75 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity lowered the risk of early death by 23 per cent. It was also enough to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 17 per cent and cancer by seven per cent.