Little exercise, big benefits for over-40s
EXERCISING just once or twice a week in middle-age slashes the risk of early death, a major study has found.
The findings, based on health data from more than 63 000 British adults, offer hope to the many “weekend warriors” in their 40s, 50s and 60s who exercise on Saturdays and Sundays but are too busy to make time during the week.
The NHS and World Health Organisation recommend people do at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise, such as cycling, walking or gardening, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise such as running, per week.
But the new study suggests that as long as people exercise at least once a week, even if they do not hit these targets, their chance of an early death is significantly reduced.
Those who do the full allocation of recommended exercise tend to be even healthier – but it makes very little difference if they cram it all into one or two sessions or do it daily.
Very few people hit the NHS target – with polls suggesting 44% of people in Britain do no regular exercise at all.
So experts are keen to work out how to make it easier for people to fit an active lifestyle into their busy lives.
The latest study suggests packing weekly exercise into just one or two sessions is almost as good as exercising more regularly.
People over the age of 40 were tracked for an average of nine years.
It was found those who exercised regularly – defined as more than three times a week – were 35% less likely to die from any cause in the study period than those who were completely inactive.
“Weekend warriors” – those who exercised once or twice a week and still hit the guidelines – were 30% less likely than inactive people to die.
Those who exercised once or twice a week, but did not hit the guidelines, were 34% less likely to die.
Analysing deaths broken up according to specific diseases, the team found similar trends.
Compared with those who did no exercise, regular exercisers reduced the risk of death from cancer by 21%.
Weekend warriors cut their risk by 18%, and those who exercised at least once a week but did not hit the target, by 17%.
As for deaths from cardiovascular disease, regular exercisers were 41% less likely to die.
Weekend warriors were 40% less at risk and those who exercised but did not hit targets also reduced their risk by 40%. – Daily Mail