Over 40s who take up exercise slash their risk of dying early by nearly a quarter, new research has found. And those who do more than the recommended 150 minutes a week reduce their risk by almost half.
Cambridge University, which studied 15000 Brits aged 40 to 79 said the results prove it is never too late to start exercising - or to boost existing fitness levels. They looked at the participants exercise levels over 21 years.
Lead researcher, Soren Brage, added: "The simple message is, the more exercise, the better."
Activity included walking, gardening, cycling and other sports. Participants included cancer survivors and those with heart problems. The Scientists found the fittest people, who were already exceeding the 150 minute recommendations, experienced the greatest boost to their longevity by raising their activity levels. On average they were 42 per cent less likely to die during the study.
Couch potatoes who started meeting the recommended activity levels made themselves 24 per cent less likely to die during the 21 years.
The study, which was published in the British Medical Journal, also found that all older adults saw a "substantial" boost to life expectancy by being more active - no matter what their initial fitness.
It concluded: "these results are encouraging not least for middle-aged and older adults with cancer and cardiovascular disease, who can still gain substantial longevity benefits by becoming more active."
UKActive commented: "this provides further evidence against the outdated idea that people should do less as they age or while managing a long-term illness. The time has come for a total rethink of how we approach our later years."
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