Walking or cycling can avert premature death

A study by researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Cambridge University, and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden has found that even light or moderate intensity physical activity, such as walking or cycling, can substantially reduced the risk of early death.

The study, published by the International Journal of Epidemiology and described here, combined the results from the largest studies around the world on the health impact of light and moderate intensity physical activity. It showed that the greatest health benefits from light or moderate activity (such as walking and cycling) were in people who otherwise engage in hardly any physical activity. Although more activity is better, the benefits of even a small amount of physical activity are substantial in the least physically active.

Thirty minutes a day of moderately intense activity, five days a week, reduces the risk of death by 19 percent, and seven hours per week of moderate activity will reduce the risk by 24 percent, according to researchers. "Just walking to the shops or walking the children to school can lengthen your life — as well as bringing other benefits for well-being and the environment," said lead researcher James Woodcock.