Exercise bites extend life

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MunichDesk workers live dangerously. Sitting too much is extremely unhealthy. The good news is that just two minutes of motion per hour can drastically reduce the risk of premature death.

Health experts recommend a weekly schedule of at least two and a half hours of moderate physical activity. But many people can't do it. For those who don't like exercise, small bites of exercise could be a good alternative to staying healthy, researchers working with Srinivasan Beddhu have discovered.

Effective bite to eat

The scientists evaluated the data from 3,234 people who were followed over a period of three years. During this time 173 of the participants died. A more detailed analysis showed that even short walks significantly increased the likelihood of survival, provided that they were taken often enough. Assuming 16 waking hours a day, a two-minute walk every hour could reduce the risk of death by a third.

In fact, the numerous bites of exercise come together - a good half an hour of additional physical activity or three and a half hours per week.

"It was fascinating to see that even little physical activity reduced mortality so significantly," says study leader Beddhu. So it is not necessarily very intensive and prolonged athletic performance to achieve a positive effect on health.

If the scientific focus were otherwise mostly on more intensive sporting activities and their effects on health, the study could now motivate people who are rather unsportsmanlike to exercise more.

Immobile Germans

In Germany, too, many people have problems exercising regularly. In a survey conducted as part of the consumption and media analysis (VuMA), only around one in ten respondents stated that they were active in sports several times a week. More than half of all Germans over 14 years of age say they do less than once a month or even never exercise. (cf)

Source: Srinivasan Beddhu: Light-Intensity Physical Activities and Mortality in the United States General Population and CKD Subpopulation. CJASN, April 30, 2015 DOI: 10.2215 /% u200BCJN.08410814

Tags:  sports fitness menshealth prevention