Do not worry if you fail to 30 minutes of physical activity each day recommended. Several studies have shown that a quarter of an hour just might be beneficial to health.
This is not a reason to let go: the regular practice of physical exercise strengthens muscles, reduces the risk of developing certain diseases and reduces anxiety. The more we sport, the better you will feel.
But not everyone has the time or energy to practice intense physical activity. Researchers have attempted to determine the minimum duration of exercise necessary to get results. And a study by the National Research Institutes Health suggests that Taiwan fifteen minutes a day of moderate sport could extend life expectancy.
This "may convince many people that they can introduce physical activity into their busy schedules," observes Dr. Anil Nigam of the University of Montreal. The doctor had no role in the study but wrote the editorial accompanying the study published online Monday by "The Lancet".
The World Health Organization and several countries, including France and the United States, recommended to be physically active for at least half an hour every day. There may be a moderate walk, a bike ride or water aerobics.
Taiwanese researchers found that people in the East Asian countries, including China, Japan and Taiwan, were less sport, and so less intense than Western.
Approximately 416,000 Taiwanese adults were asked about physical activities they performed during the past month. According to their answers, they were placed in five groups, ranging from inactivity to a very intense practice.
The researchers followed their progress for eight years on average and calculated life expectancy. They have thus observed that those who were exercising 15 minutes a day, or 90 minutes per week reduced by 14% the risk of death and prolonged life expectancy of three years compared to those who did not practice any physical activity . With 30 minutes, the risk of death was reduced by 4% extra.
The study has limits, with answers based on self-assessment. The benefits observed are therefore probably not only related to the performance, although researchers say they took into account other factors, such as alcohol and smoking. Other scientists, however, believe that these results support those seen through other studies.
For sedentary people, here's the key: a little exercise is better than nothing. "Get up from your couch and put yourself to move," joked I-Min Lee of the Harvard School of Public Health.
In a study published earlier this month, Lee and colleagues emphasized that people practicing 15 minutes a day of moderate physical activity reduced by 14% their risk of developing heart disease, compared with inactive people. The investigation combined the results of nearly thirty studies conducted in North America and Europe. More activity was intense, this risk was reduced again.
