Older men can significantly reduce their risk of death from any cause by simply being physically active for 30 minutes per day, six days a week, a new study has found.

In fact, being more physically active appears to be as good as giving up smoking, and this is irrespective of the intensity of the activity.

The findings are based on a Norwegian study that involved almost 26,000 men born between 1923 and 1932. In 1972/73, 15,000 of these men underwent a detailed health check. From this, they were grouped according to their activity levels:
-Sedentary, e.g. watching TV
-Light, e.g. walking or cycling for at least four hours per week
-Moderate, e.g. formal exercise, sport, heavy gardening for at least four hours per week
-Vigorous, e.g. hard training or competitive sports several times per week.

In 2000, over 5,700 of the surviving men again underwent a detailed health check and these were then monitored for almost 12 years. During this period, 2,154 of the men died.

The study found that light physical activity for less than an hour per week did not reduce the risk of death. However more than an hour per week was linked with a 32% to 56% reduced risk of death from any cause.

Less than an hour of vigorous activity per week was linked with a reduction in the risk of heart disease and death of between 23% and 37%.

The more vigorous exercise undertaken, the more the risk fell. Those undertaking the most vigorous activities had a 49% reduced risk.

Furthermore, men who regularly undertook moderate to vigorous physical activity during their leisure time lived for an average of five years more than those who were sedentary.

Overall, the researchers from the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences in Oslo found that just 30 minutes of activity, of even just light intensity, six days a week, was linked with a 40% reduced risk of death.

Among this age group, the benefits of physical activity were as good for health as quitting smoking.

The researchers said that more attempts should be made to encourage older men to become more physically active.

Details of these findings are published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.