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Notice to Sunday athletes: (only) 11 minutes of daily physical activity is enough to prevent one in ten premature deaths, according to researchers.
If Public Health France recommends moving “60 minutes a day“, most French people can’t do it. Good news, a British study reveals that sport – even at low doses – could prevent many premature deaths. It would thus be enough to practice 11 minutes of physical activity a day.
Fewer cardiovascular diseases and cancers
To reach these conclusions, the research team reviewed hundreds of previous studies on the benefits of physical activity.
They then realized that half the amount of sport recommended by the National Health Service (i.e. 75 minutes of physical activity per week instead of 150) could prevent one in 20 cases of cardiovascular disease and nearly one in 30 cancer.
Per day, this is equivalent to 11 minutes of sport, whatever the nature: cycling, tennis, hiking, brisk walking, dancing, etc.
According to the authors, this quantity would be sufficient “to reduce the risk of developing heart disease and/or stroke by 17% and cancer by 7%“.
Another notable finding of the study: the benefits of these short sports sessions were even greater in the face of certain specific cancers, such as that of the stomach, brain, neck, blood, etc.
Good news for non-athletes
“If you’re someone who finds the idea of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week a little daunting, then our results should be welcome news.“, says Dr. Brage, who led the research.
He adds that if these 11 minutes of daily physical activity “are easily accessible“, they can be gradually increased, “until reaching the optimum recommended amount“, or 150 minutes per week.