Even a Few Minutes of Exercise a Week Linked to Lower Death Risk
Graded Preliminary — over 594,000 adults were followed for 9.5 years on average; as an observational study with self-reported activity, it cannot separate cause from effect.
- Design
- Retrospective cohort study
- Participants
- 594,285
- Duration
- 9.5 years
- Funding
- Defense Health Agency Consortium
Even a few minutes of exercise a week was linked to a lower risk of dying than no exercise at all.
The biggest gap is between doing nothing and doing a little. That is the message of a large analysis of US adults. Just five minutes a week of moderate to vigorous activity was linked to a 13 percent lower risk of dying than none at all.
The researchers used answers from 594,285 adults in a national health survey run from 1997 to 2018. They linked these answers to death records and followed people for 9.5 years on average. Vigorous minutes counted double. More than a third said they did no such activity at all. At 150 minutes a week, the risk of dying was 19 percent lower than at zero. At 600 minutes, it was 26 percent lower. The team accounted for age, social and economic background, lifestyle and health.
Over ten years, an estimated 19.9 percent of fully inactive people died, roughly one in five. Among those active for more than 600 minutes a week, it was 7.2 percent. The study only observed people, and activity was self-reported. So it cannot prove that exercise itself is what kept people alive longer.
Disclaimer: Research summaries are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your health routine.