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Even as little as 30 minutes of walking each week can extend your life


An August 2009 column in the Globe and Mail has reported on a study from Stanford University in California which concluded that, just a small amount of physical activity – a half hour stroll a week – can reduce the risk of mortality from heart disease by half.

The study suggested that rather than diet or general health status, physical fitness is the strongest predictor of mortality. The 20 year study test almost 4500 participants in their 50s and 60s who had no major health problems and ask them to use a treadmill. Participants asked how much exercise they did and were then placed in five groups from least fit to most fit and then followed for an average of 9 years to see how many of each group died during the course of the study. Deaths that were caused by factors unrelated to physical activity such as cancer or lung disease were excluded.