There are sadly no magic pills that reverse ageing and prolong life, but exercise is about the closest thing to an anti-ageing, disease-fighting pill that you’ll find. And it doesn’t have to be vigorous exercise for you to reap the benefits.
In fact just 20 minutes of brisk walking a day may be all it takes to lessen a sedentary person's risk of early death, according to a recent study .
The European study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition sampled over 334,000 men and women over a 12-year period and looked at the association between physical activity levels and the risk of early death, and whether Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist circumference modified the results.
The researchers found that twice as many deaths were linked to lack of physical activity than to obesity (having a BMI ≥ 30). In numbers, that means approximately 676,000 of the 9.2 million deaths amongst European men and women each year are attributable to physical inactivity, compared to 337,000 deaths attributable to obesity – a testament to the incredible benefits of exercise!
Moreover, the study showed that just a modest increase in physical activity i.e. burning just 90-100 calories a day – the equivalent of a brisk 20-minute walk – was enough to move an individual from the inactive to the moderately inactive group and reduce their risk of early death by 16-30%.
A slightly older UK Sweden study  published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, further backs this finding. It found that 30-minutes of moderate intensity activity for five days per week reduced the risk of death by about 19% when compared to no physical activity. When this level increased to seven hours per week, the risk was reduced by an average of 24%.
Lead researcher, James Woodcock said: “This research confirms that it is not just exercising hard that is good for you, but 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 as well as bringing other benefits for wellbeing and the environment.”
What do today’s guidelines recommend?
Although studies have established that shifting from doing no exercise to doing some exercise – even 20-minutes brisk walking per day – is beneficial, we should really be looking at doing more than this, given the many proven health benefits of physical activity. Stress management and mental wellbeing are two big reasons that immediately spring to mind.
The Australian Physical Activity Guidelines now recommend 2.5-5 hours of ‘moderate’ intensity physical activity or 1.25-2.5 hours of ‘vigorous’ physical activity a week.  That could mean a brisk walk for 30-minutes a day, five days a week; a high-intensity spin class one day for 45-minutes, plus a half-hour jog another day; or some other combination of moderate and vigorous activity.
Which exercises you engage in really depends on your goals, your fitness level and how you respond to different exercises. If you’re just starting out, you’ll need to slowly build up to the recommended levels.
Engaging a professional personal trainer to figure out what exercises are suitable for you – taking into account your age, medical history, body type, and fitness level – is an efficient and safe way to get the process started. Having someone to hold you accountable and challenge you is also one of the best ways to improve your fitness and ensure you make regular exercise a core part of your life.
Urban Fitness Solutionsare experienced, mobile personal trainers and certified fitness coaches in Sydney who work with people 45 years and up to improve health and wellbeing though outdoor exercise and developing healthy, sustainable eating and lifestyle habits. If you’d like to improve your health status and add some years to your life through the benefits of exercise, get in touch with us – your Partners in Wellbeing. Its never too late to start! Contact us today.
 Ekelund, U. et al. (2015). Physical activity and all-cause mortality across levels of overall and abdominal adiposity in European men and women: the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition Study (EPIC). American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, [online] 101(3), pp.613-621. Available at: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2015/01/14/ajcn.114.100065.full.pdf [Accessed 22 Jan. 2018].
 Woodcock, J. et al. (2010). Non-vigorous physical activity and all-cause mortality: systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. International Journal of Epidemiology, [online] 40(1), pp.121-138. Available at: https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/40/1/121/658816 [Accessed 22 Jan. 2018].