Giving up exercise due to a lack of free time to exercise? A study in Australia shows that even spending only a few minutes a day engaging in high-intensity exercise, such as brisk walking, physical activity, and even playing with children or pets, may help reduce the risk of dying from cancer or heart disease.
Researchers from the University of Sydney followed more than 25000 British residents with an average age of 61.8 years, of whom about 56% were women, with an average follow-up time of 6.9 years. Some of them engage in brief and intense activities every day, such as running to catch the bus, taking the stairs, or doing household chores that require a lot of physical energy.
The researchers found that compared with the absence of intermittent vigorous activity, the risk of death associated with cardiovascular disease was reduced by up to 49%, and the risk of death associated with cancer and all-cause death was reduced by up to 40% when intense activity with a total length of 4 to 6 minutes was performed three times a day.
