Each additional 15 minutes of daily exercise beyond the minimum 15 minutes further reduced the risk of all-cause death by four percent and the risk of cancer death by one percent.
Just 15 minutes of physical activity a day can reduce your risk of death by 14 percent and increase your life expectancy by three years, a new study suggests.
Based on their self-reported amounts of weekly exercise, they were placed in one of five categories: inactive, low, medium, high or very high activity.
The people in the low-activity group exercised for an average of 92 minutes per week, or just under 15 minutes a day. Compared to those in the inactive group -- who did almost no physical activity -- those in the low-activity group were 14 percent less likely to die from any cause, 10 percent less likely to die of cancer, and had a three-year longer life expectancy, on average.
Every additional 15 minutes of daily exercise beyond the minimum 15 minutes further reduced the risk of all-cause death by 4 percent and the risk of cancer death by 1 percent.
The benefits of even low levels of physical activity were seen in all age groups, in both men and women, and in people with cardiovascular disease risks.
The study appears online Aug. 15 in The Lancet.
This low volume of physical activity could play a central part in the global war against non-communicable diseases, reducing medical costs and health disparities," they concluded.
More exercise led to further life gains. Every additional 15 minutes of daily exercise further reduced all-cause death rates by 4%.
People classified as "inactive" had an 11% higher risk of dying of cancer than those in the "low-volume" activity group.
The different "exercise volume" groups were "inactive", "low", "medium", "high", and "very high".