New Delhi

Eleven minutes of walking every day could help in preventing one in 10 premature deaths, a new study has revealed. The research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine highlights that "higher levels of physical activity are associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular diseases and some site-specific cancers." The findings suggest "an appreciably lower risk of mortality, cardiovascular diseases and cancers from the equivalent of 75 minutes per week or less of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity (half the recommended minimum levels)". The National Health Services (NHS) in the United Kingdom recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity workouts per week.

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As a part of the research, experts looked into over 196 articles, covering 94 cohorts with over 30 million participants. This is said to be one of the largest studies of its kind.  "If you are someone who finds the idea of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week a bit daunting, then our findings should be good news," Dr Søren Brage, of Cambridge’s Medical Research Council (MRC) epidemiology unit, was quoted as saying in reports.

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“Doing some physical activity is better than doing none. This is also a good starting position – if you find that 75 minutes a week is manageable, then you could try stepping it up gradually to the full recommended amount.”

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If the recommendation of 150 minutes of exercise per week was followed, around one in six early deaths could be prevented, researchers concluded. Among activities that can cut the risk of early deaths are brisk walking, dancing, riding a bike, playing tennis or hiking 

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