For 2026, many of us likely set resolutions to improve our health and fitness levels.
But before you go wild joining every workout class you can squeeze into your schedule, it might interest you to know there’s an easy and completely free way to reduce your risk of premature death.
A new study, led by a team of scientists from the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, has claimed that taking a short walk every day could actually help you live longer, reducing your risk of prematurely dying before the age of 75.
The findings, published in The Lancet, show that making ‘small and realistic’ increases in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MPVA) could help prevent a ‘meaningful’ proportion of premature deaths.
For those unaware, MPVA is any exercise that significantly raises your heart rate and breathing – this can include brisk walking, riding a bike, water aerobics, dancing, rollerblading, and tennis.
How long you need to walk for each day, according to the research
The study estimates that walking for just five minutes per day could help reduce the risk of early death by 10% for most of the general population, while walking for 10 minutes could cut the risk by 15%.
But this figure is different for the ‘least active’ people among us, as for them, a five-minute walk could reduce the risk by just 6%.
If you aren’t able to get out and about for a brisk walk, simply getting up and moving about your home, doing housework, for instance, could also make a difference.
The findings also claimed that reducing the amount of time you are sedentary (sitting and inactive) by 30 minutes each day could help to prevent around 4.5% of deaths.
The study analysed data from 135,000 people (predominantly aged in their 50s and 60s) from the UK, Norway, the US, and Sweden. Participants used pedometers to keep track of activity and sedentary levels throughout.
Death rates over an eight-year period were also examined in order to produce the findings, and the proportions of deaths prevented were estimated based on changes seen in the least active participants and all other participants.
Dr Brendon Stubbs, of King’s College London, told The Times that this study ‘offers hope’ for those who don’t do much exercise.
‘This finding serves as an inspiring public health message: even small daily tweaks to activity levels can make a meaningful difference, for instance, a quick brisk walk, climbing a few extra flights of stairs, or playing energetically with the grandkids.’
However, he added that the study was ‘observational,’ so it is unable to prove causation, and randomised controlled trials would be needed to confirm if these lifestyle changes directly reduce deaths.
Do you get outside for a walk every day?
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Yes
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No
This comes after a longevity doctor spoke to Metro about ‘simple’ ways to add years to your life.
Dr Mohammed Enayat, a former GP who founded HUM2N, recommends starting your day barefoot in nature in order to regulate your body’s circadian rhythm.
‘We’re generally too much in the fight or flight response or the sympathetic nervous system, so everything that we can do to help improve our parasympathetic nervous system, which is our healing response, is going to help us for the long term,’ he explains.
‘Too much of the stress response causes that causes metabolic issues, diabetes, obesity, inflammation, cardiovascular disease and can even increase cancer risk as well.’ He also advised optimising your sleep, and getting regular health checks such as routine NHS blood tests, faecal and urine screenings, cervical smear tests, breast screening and the 40-year-old checkup.
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