Just 15 Minutes Of Exercise Increases Life Expectency By Three Years

Aug. 17, 2011 - PRLog -- New research reports that just 15 minutes of daily physical activity can reduce your risk of death by 14 percent and increase your life expectancy by three years.

The current generally accepted recommendations call for adults to do at least 150 minutes, or a total of 2.5 hours, of physical activity weekly.

Researchers releasing the findings of their new study found that doing even less than that, only a quarter-hour of daily exercise or about 105 minutes a week still provides benefits.

The study included more than 390,000 residents of  Taiwan.  Researchers followed these individuals for an average of eight years and, based on self-reported amounts of weekly exercise, placed them into five categories.

People in the low-activity group, the scientists explained, exercised for an average of 92 minutes per week, or just under 15 minutes a day.   Compared to those categorized as being in the inactive group, individuals who did almost no physical activity, those in the low-activity group were 14 percent less likely to die from any cause, 10 percent less likely to die of cancer, and had a three-year longer life expectancy, on average.

Every additional 15 minutes of daily exercise beyond the minimum 15 minutes further reduced the risk of all-cause death by 4 percent and the risk of cancer death by 1 percent.

"The research is welcome news for millions of Americans who would benefit from even a minimum amount of exercise," suggests Jesse Slome, executive director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance http://www.aaltci.org.  "Death from heart disease, diabetes and cancer could be reduced and lifespans can be lengthened, though this means people will need to plan for living a long life."

The Association urges consumers to learn more about long-term care planning and get long-term care insurance cost from a designated expert via the organization's Consumer Information Center at http://www.aaltci.org/long-term-care-insurance/free-quote/.  "The best ages to start planning are between ages 52 and 62 when costs are lowest and you don't risk being declined because of existing health conditions," Slome explains.

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The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance http://www.aaltci.org is a trade organization. The Association's Consumer Information Center is the #1 source for information and can be accessed at http://www.aaltci.org/long-term-care-insurance