The universal quest for immortality continues, and new research has hinted at a small lifestyle change that could reduce overall death rates in countries if we start taking our movement more seriously. 

Conducted by a global research team, the study named ‘Deaths potentially averted by small changes in physical activity and sedentary time: an individual participant data meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies’ was published in The Lancet and suggested that adding five more minutes of physical exercise a day to your life could reduce death rates by 6 per cent. 

Conducted on cohorts wearing on-person devices from Norway, Sweden and the USA, scientists analysed activity and sedentary levels to deduce what was causing higher death rates and found that a little change could go a long way.

With the help of the study’s author and additional experts from the field, we delved into the details and uncovered exactly what we need to do to make sure we are maximising our health before it’s too late. 

A little change makes all the difference 

We already know that we should all be getting out and exercising to ensure everything in our bodies is running smoothly, but just how important is that daily movement and could it be contributing to national mortality rates? 

Professor Ulf Ekelund works in the Physical Activity and Health department at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences and was one of the authors of the study. He broke down the data for HELLO!. 

The professor explained: “We estimated the number of deaths potentially prevented by five and ten-minute increases in moderate intensity physical activity if all individuals in the population adhered to this increase. 

“We analysed the data using two different approaches: 

1. ‘High-risk approach’ comprising the least active 20 per cent of the population 
2. ‘Population approach’ comprising 80 per cent of the population (excluding the most active 20 per cent).

He continued: “We found that six per cent and ten per cent of all deaths might be prevented in the two different scenarios, respectively, if all individuals made these changes. 

“If an individual is completely inactive, every little move counts. For example, the least active 20 per cent in our study sample were only active for an average of about two minutes per day of moderate intensity. If all these individuals increased their activity by five minutes per day, it might reduce the number of deaths by six per cent annually.”

Dr Darren Player, a professor in Musculoskeletal Bioengineering at University College London, who was not involved in the study, shared his interpretation of the data with us and added: “The key finding was that an increase in Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity (MVPA) by only five minutes per day for the least active individuals prevented 6 per cent of all deaths. This effect could extend to as much as 10 per cent in all individuals, except for those who are already very active.” 

Exercise versus moderate intensity 

In terms of how to achieve the correct level of activity and movement, we have to understand the difference between physical activity and moderately intense movement. They are different and will yield different results. 

Professor Ulf explained: “There is a clear distinction between moderate intensity activity and exercise. Brisk walking is an excellent type of moderate intensity, whereas exercise is defined as something people do with the purpose to enhance fitness and/or health. It is structured and repetitive. Exercise is only a small proportion of all the physical activity people do. 

“Physical activity [PA] is any bodily movement that increases energy expenditure above resting levels. It can be conducted with different intensities from very low to very strenuous. Exercise is a subset of PA which is planned, structured and done with a specific purpose.” 

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Could any of this add years onto our lives? 

While this study was specifically about reducing death rates through exercise and movement, it made us wonder how it would affect the number of years we could all expect to live. Would incorporating an extra five minutes of movement add any time to the general life expectancy? 

Dr Darren referred to data from the UK Biobank to share his estimations. He said: “This is quite a difficult question to answer, but there is some evidence. The following paper suggests that there could be an increase in life expectancy of 0.9 years for inactive women and up to 1.4 years for inactive men. 

“The increases are dependent on the nature of physical activity, with higher intensity and greater volume (total amount of exercise) being the key factors. This is a large UK Biobank study, which does have some strengths for the analyses.” 

He continued: “However, the factors that contribute to life expectancy and mortality are complex and varied, with further studies required to understand the picture fully. Particularly, the effect of resistance training combined with other forms of physical activity is likely to have a greater effect than one type of activity alone. Further research is required in this area to provide suitable evidence.” 

What type of exercises can I do during my five extra minutes a day? 

According to the NHS, there are a variety of movements that you can incorporate into your routine to make sure you are hitting the target of five extra minutes of exercise per day to increase your longevity. 

These range from simple activities like making a cup of tea to pushing a lawnmower and dancing around your living room for fitness, depending on the intensity you are able for. While the study suggested five minutes of moderate intensity exercise, the health service broke down its recommendations into sections based on vigour:

Light activity: 

• Getting up to make a cup of tea
• Moving around your home
• Walking at a slow pace
• Cleaning and dusting
• Vacuuming

Moderate activity:

• Walking for health
• Water aerobics
• Riding a bike
• Dance for fitness
• Pushing a lawnmower
• Hiking

Intense activity: 

• Running
• Swimming
• Football
• Hiking uphill
• Martial arts

It also suggested some easy-to-do strength exercises that involve using a kitchen chair or filled bottles of water as props:

• Sit-to-stand 
• Mini squats 
• Calf raises 
• Standing sideways leg lift 
• Standing leg extension 
• Wall press-up 
• Bicep curls