Two new studies have identified the small changes people can make to help themselves live longer.
The first, published in The Lancet, found that “small and realistic” increases in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity can reduce the risk of death in a significant number of people.
Researchers, led by academics from the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, wanted to assess the impact of small increases in exercise among the least active people and among the general population.
The study examined data from almost 95,000 middle-aged and older adults in the UK, and 40,000 people from Norway, Sweden and the US.
It found that just five extra minutes of brisk walking per day could reduce 6 per cent of deaths among the least active people and could reduce the risk of deaths among the general population by 10 per cent.
The team also analysed reductions in the amount of time sitting each day.
Figures from the UK arm of the study, taken from the UK Biobank study, which is tracking the health of middle-aged adults, also show that reducing sedentary time by 30 minutes a day could reduce 4.5 per cent of deaths among all adults taking part in the study, apart from those who were already very active.
“Considering that it is unlikely for all individuals to achieve the WHO (World Health Organisation) physical activity recommendations of 150 min of moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity weekly, our data underscore the large impact of realistic and achievable behaviour goals on population health,” the authors wrote.
Study co-author Professor Melody Ding, from the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney, said: “Inactive lifestyles are associated with a range of health problems and this study shows the huge public health benefit from even small increases in physical activity.”
Meanwhile, a separate study, published in eClinicalMedicine, identifies a number of small changes people can make to live a longer life.
Experts led by academics at the University of Sydney gathered information on the levels of activity, diet and sleep of 50,000 people with an average age of 64 who were taking part in the UK Biobank study.
They were then tracked for an average of eight years.
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During this follow-up period, there were 2,400 deaths, almost 10,000 cases of heart disease diagnosed, and 3,000 cases of type 2 diabetes, 7,600 cancers, 1,500 cases of lung disease and 500 cases of dementia.
The research team said that people who had the best sleep, exercised most and had the healthiest diets lived for 9.35 years longer than those with the worst sleep, lowest activity levels and poorest diets – and they spent more of their lives in good health.
Overall, they estimated that a “combined dose” of increasing sleep by five minutes per day, just two minutes more of increased moderate to vigorous physical activity and half an extra portion of vegetables could increase a person’s lifespan by one year for people with the worst sleep, lowest activity levels and poorest diets.
“This study demonstrates that small, concurrent improvements in sleep, physical activity, and diet quality were associated with clinically meaningful theoretical gains in lifespan and healthspan,” the authors wrote.
Research lead Dr Nicholas Koemel, from the University of Sydney, said: “Sleep, physical activity and nutrition are all factors known to be linked to healthier lives, but they are usually studied in isolation.
“By investigating these factors in combination, we can see that even small tweaks have a significant cumulative impact over the long-term.”