There is no need to spend hours pounding away on a treadmill at the gym to get fit. The key to a longer life is taking a stroll for half-an-hour daily, says a new study.
Researchers in Britain have carried out the study and found that a daily walk to the shops can cut the risk of early death by 20 per cent.
“Our research confirms that it is not just exercising hard that is good for you. Even moderate, everyday activities like walking and cycling can have major health benefits. Just walking to the shops or walking the children to school can lengthen your life. It is a very important message to get across, that small amounts of light to moderate activity on a regular basis will have quite large benefits,” James Woodcock of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who led the study, was quoted by the Daily Express as saying. The study, carried out with researchers at Cambridge University and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, showed the largest health benefits were in people who did hardly any physical activity.
Woodcock added, “Large benefits were found in people going from being a couch potato to doing some activity.” Diet and movement specialist Joanna Hall said: “This research is so encouraging because many people are under the impression that in order to incur health, fitness and weight loss benefits they need to exercise vigorously and this is simply not the case.” —PTI