15 minutes of fitness

Don't despair if you can't fit in the recommended 30 minutes of daily exercise. Growing evidence suggests that even half that much can help. It's still no excuse to slack off. Regular exercise strengthens muscles, reduces the risk of some diseases and promotes mental wellbeing. The more exercise, the better. But not everyone has the time or willpower. So researchers set out to find the minimum amount of physical activity needed to reap health benefits. The findings by a study in Taiwan suggest just 15 minutes of moderate exercise a day can lead to a longer life. This "may convince many individuals that they are able to incorporate physical activity into their busy lives," Dr Anil Nigam of the University of Montreal said. Dr Nigam had no role in the research. However, he wrote an editorial accompanying the Taiwan study published online in The Lancet. Article continues below Fitness guidelines by the World Health Organisation, the US and other countries recommend that adults get at least half an hour of moderate workout most days of the week. This can include brisk walking, bike riding and water aerobics. A simple solution Realising that it might be a bit difficult for some to break a sweat, health groups have suggested breaking it down into smaller, more manageable chunks of time such as three ten-minute spurts a day on weekdays. The study, led by experts at the National Health Research Institutes in Taiwan, sought to determine if exercising less than 30 minutes was still helpful. The researchers noted that East Asians — including China, Japan and Taiwan — are less physically active than their Western counterparts and their workouts are less intense. About 416,000 Taiwanese adults were asked how much exercise they did the previous month. Based on their answers, they were put into five groups of varying activity levels from inactive to highly active. Researchers kept track of their progress for eight years on average and calculated projected life expectancy. The study found those who exercised just 15 minutes a day — or 90 minutes a week — cut their risk of death by 14 per cent and extended their life expectancy by three years compared with those who did no exercise. Both men and women benefited equally from the minimum activity. Get moving For the sedentary, the key is this: Some exercise is better than none. "Get off the couch and start moving," said I-Min Lee of the Harvard School of Public Health. In a study published in Circulation earlier this month, Lee and colleagues found that people who engaged in 15 minutes a day of moderate physical activity had a 14 per cent lower risk of heart disease compared with inactive people. That research, combining the results of nearly three dozen studies of people from North America and Europe, also found that the benefit increased with more activity and may provide more motivation to the physically fit. People should strive to do the recommended level of exercise, but should not be discouraged if they can't achieve it right away. The key is to start slow and gradually build up. "As inactive persons start moving, they may very well find that they become more fit" and reaching their exercise goal becomes easier, Lee said.