A new study shows that 20 to 25 minutes of physical activity per day may be enough to offset the risk of death from a very sedentary lifestyle.
- A sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of death.
- Doing moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity every day reduces this risk, regardless of how long people spend a sedentary lifestyle.
- On the other hand, light-intensity physical activity only reduces the risk in people who are inactive for more than 12 hours a day.
Physical inactivity is the fourth leading cause of premature death worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). A new study, published in the journal British Journal of Sports Medicinemay have just found a solution for people whose lifestyle is not active enough: do 20 to 25 minutes of physical activity per day, of moderate to sustained intensity.
People inactive more than 12 hours a day had a 38% higher risk of death
To achieve this result, scientists analyzed data from more than 11,000 people aged 50 and over. This information was collected between 2003 and 2019, as part of previous studies. All participants wore activity tracking devices for a minimum of 10 hours for 4 days. There were two groups of people: those whose level of sedentary time was less than 10.5 hours per day (5,943 participants) and those whose duration was equal to or greater than 10.5 hours, or 6,042 people.
Thus, scientists observed that, over a period of 5 years, 805 (7%) people died, including 357 (6%) among those who had spent less than 10.5 hours sedentary per day and 448 among those for whom this time was equal to or greater than 10.5 hours. After analyzing data from individual activity tracking devices, the researchers established several conclusions. First, people who were sedentary for more than 12 hours per day had a 38% greater risk of death, compared to those who spent 8 hours inactive, but only if the latter did 22 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day. .
Moderate to vigorous physical activity reduces the risk of dying
Second conclusion: doing moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical exercise every day is linked to a lower risk of death, regardless of the amount of time spent sitting each day. On the other hand, light-intensity physical activity is only associated with a lower risk of death in people who are very sedentary, i.e. more than 12 hours per day.
According to the team, the more the time of physical activity increases, the more the risk decreases. For example, 10 extra minutes per day was associated with a 15% lower risk of death among participants who were sedentary for less than 10.5 hours per day. For those whose duration was equal to or greater than 10.5 hours, the risk decreased by 35%. However, the researchers acknowledge that they did not take into account certain data that could influence their results, such as diet or general health.
“Small amounts of moderate to vigorous physical activity may be a good strategy to reduce the risk of mortality due to high sedentary periods, and [cela] decreases [aussi] the risk of long periods of sedentary lifestyleexplain the authors, in a communicated. Promoting physical activity can benefit individuals’ health.”
