How 30 Minutes a Day Could Save Your Life

We know that we should be exercising, especially at midlife. Many studies have shown that being physically active extends your healthy years. But if you're not a natural athlete, just the word exercise is daunting. What does it mean? What exactly should we be doing? And how many minutes — or hours – a day should we spend exercising?

Trying to answer those questions is often the end of the exercise process for many of us but it shouldn't be. In fact, the amount and type of exercise you should be getting might be much easier to take than you realize. That's the conclusion of a new study by researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Cambridge University and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. They found that that even light or moderate intensity physical activity — walking or cycling — can help you live longer.

The study, published this week in the International Journal of Epidemiology, is important because it took results from the largest studies in a number of countries on the health impact of light and moderate intensity physical activity. The researchers found that the people who benefited most from light or moderate activity were those who were essentially couch potatoes before starting to exercise. In that group, even a small amount of physical activity produces huge benefits – although more activity is always better.

Thirty minutes of moderate physical activity five days a week reduces the risk of death by 19 percent, while seven hours a week of moderate activity (compared to inactivity) reduces the risk by 24 percent. If you're wondering how you can reach that 30 minute a day goal without completing disrupting your schedule, try walking short distances instead of driving, using the stairs instead of escalators or elevators, and parking as far as possible from the entrance to the mall. All that adds up to more healthy years for you.

For a chart that compares the caloric expenditure of 30 minutes of various daily activities, click here.