How many minutes of walking per day should you do to reduce your risk of early death?

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Scientists from the University of Cambridge have found that 11 minutes a day (and 75 minutes a week) of moderate physical activity reduces the risk of stroke, cardiovascular disease, and some types of cancer. This is stated in an article published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

The leading causes of death worldwide are stroke and heart disease. Recently, scientists have found that walking for 11 minutes a day (or doing other moderate-intensity physical activity) can reduce the risk of developing these diseases.

Experts from the Department of Epidemiology at the Medical Research Council at the University of Cambridge analyzed data from previously published cohort studies. In total, they looked at the results published in 196 articles covering more than 30 million people from 94 research groups.

It turned out that 75 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week reduced the risk of premature death by 23%. It also reduced the likelihood of developing cancer by 7% and heart disease by 17%. The risk of developing head and neck cancer, myeloid leukemia, myeloma and gastric cancer in people was reduced by 14-26%. As for lung, liver, endometrial, colon, and breast cancer, in this case a decrease of 3-11% was observed.

Examples of moderate-intensity physical activity include: brisk walking, cycling, dancing, playing tennis, and hiking.