75 minutes of physical activity for those above 60 years can reduce risk of death, says study
Posted on: 10/Aug/2015 10:53:03 AM
A study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine has shown that even weekly physical workouts can reduce the risk of death in people over 60 years of age.
The team of researchers studied databases that showed the weekly physical activities of those above 60 years. The amount of physical activity was measured in Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET) minutes. This would show the number of calories, and therefor the amount of energy, used per minute of the activity.
A total of 122417 people were studied over a period of 10 years. The data showed that those who earned less than 500 MET minutes a week had a 22 per cent lower chance of dying that those who had no or lesser physical activity. Those who earned the recommended number of minutes (1000 MET minutes) had a 28 per cent lower risk and those that earned more than the recommended amount had a 35 per cent lower risk.
The study showed that 250 MET minutes a week amounted to 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity. This would be around 15 minutes a day. The first 15 minutes had the maximum impact.
