Daily exercise can prolong life for three years

Just 15 minutes of exercise a day can increase the life expectancy of three years and the risk of death reduced by 14%, research from Taiwan suggests.

The experts in The Lancet that is the least amount of activity of an adult can do to gain an advantage health.

That's about half the amount currently recommended in the UK.

Meanwhile, work in the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggests a way of life couch potato with six hours of television per day cuts the life of five years.

The British government has recently updated its recommendations for exercise for a more flexible approach, recommending that adults 150 minutes of activity per week.

This could be a couple of 10 minutes each daily activity or exercise sessions of 30 minutes, five times a week, for example.

Experts say that advice still stands, but a minimum of 15 minutes a day is a good place to start for those who currently have little or no exercise.

The Lancet study, based on a review of more than 400,000 people in Taiwan, showed 15 minutes per day or 90 minutes per week of moderate physical activity such as brisk walking, can add three years to your life.

And people begin to exercise more tend to get a taste for it and their daily quota, researchers at the National Health Research Institutes, Taiwan and China Medical University Hospital found.

More exercise led to gains extra life. Every 15 additional minutes of daily exercise further reduced the mortality rate from all causes by 4%.

And research in Australia on the health risks associated with watching television suggests too much time sitting in front of the box can shorten life expectancy, probably because many viewers who watch TV, exercise little or no.

England chief medical officer Sally Davies said: "Physical activity has enormous benefits and studies back what we already know - as do some physical activity every day brings health benefits and a sedentary lifestyle leads to additional risks.”

She added: "We hope these studies will help more people realize that there are many ways to exercise, activities such as walking at a good pace or dig the garden may have more too."

Professor Stuart Biddle, an expert in Exercise Psychology at Loughborough University, said that many people in the UK are now falling under the category of inactive or sedentary.

He said the goal for 30 minutes of exercise a day on most days of the week may seem too difficult for some, but from the bottom and build could be feasible.

"You can get better relationships with relatively small amounts of physical activity. More is always better, but less is a good place to start."