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The research was led by a team at the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, which also found that reducing the time spent sitting down each day by 30 minutes could cut deaths by about 5 per cent.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Ultra-processed foods \u2018contribute to 18,000 early deaths a year\u2019<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Professor Melody Ding, of the University of Sydney, said: \u201cInactive lifestyles are associated with a range of health problems and this study shows the huge public health benefit from even small increases in physical activity.\u201d<\/p>\n The participants were aged 64 on average. Deaths before the age of 75 were defined as premature.<\/p>\n Diseases including diabetes, heart disease and cancer are some of the biggest causes of preventable premature deaths and are all linked to sedentary lifestyles. Experts urged Britons to act on the findings by integrating small changes<\/a> into their days, stressing that \u201csome physical activity will always be better than doing nothing at all\u201d. <\/p>\n \u2022 The \u2018silent killer\u2019: how the experts avoid high blood pressure<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Dr Brendon Stubbs, of King\u2019s College London, said: \u201cThis finding offers hope, especially to the least active, serving 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.<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately this is an observational study, it cannot prove causation. Randomised controlled trials would be ideal to confirm if these changes directly reduce deaths.\u201d<\/p>\n People who had the best sleep, exercised most and had the most healthy diets lived for 9.35 years longer than those with the worst sleep, lowest activity levels and poorest diet<\/p>\n GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n Dr Daniel Bailey, of Brunel University, said that an extra five minutes a day \u201cshould be feasible for most people\u201d, adding: \u201cModerate activities are those that make us breathe a bit heavier and feel warmer.\u201d<\/p>\n A study, published in eClinicalMedicine, identified a number of small changes to sleep and diet that people could make to extend their lives. <\/p>\n It found that, among people with the unhealthiest lifestyles, a \u201ccombined dose\u201d of increasing sleep by five minutes per day, two minutes more exercise and half an extra portion of vegetables could increase a person\u2019s lifespan by one year.<\/p>\n The research was led by academics at the University of Sydney who gathered information on the levels of activity, diet and sleep of 50,000 people taking part in the UK Biobank study. Over the eight years there were 2,400 deaths.<\/p>\n \u2022 Walking groups \u2014 the latest trend to seduce Gen Z and millennials<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/\/07ce87d0-3306-4584-ac47-c75d6adfb8e7.jpg\")
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