Take The Stairs To Better Health: New Study Links Everyday Activity To Longevity

Even those who start later in life can reap significant rewards — every day that you walk for an hour could translate into 6 extra hours of life expectancy, says study by Australian researchers. 

The study found the impact of exercise on longevity to be twice as strong as previously thought.

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Imagine if the secret to a longer life could be found in something as simple as lacing up your sneakers and going for a walk. According to Lennert Veerman, a public health professor at Griffith University in Australia, exercise acts like a “longevity jab”, with the potential to add up to 11 years to your lifespan. 

Even those who start later in life can reap significant rewards — every day that you walk for an hour could translate into six extra hours of life expectancy, suggests Veerman’s latest study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. For those over 40 who are less active, increasing movement beyond 50 minutes a day could extend life by as much as five years, the study says. 

It’s clear: staying on your feet is not just about fitness—it’s about adding years to your life.

Using data from hip-worn fitness trackers on over 35,000 people, Veerman and his team found the impact of exercise on longevity to be twice as strong as previously thought.

Researchers analysed 2017 mortality data from the US Centers of Disease Control & Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. Over 35,000 Americans over age 40 were included, whose physical activity levels were based on data from the 2003 to 2006 National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey.

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The Findings of The Study

Those in the top activity quartile, averaging 160 minutes of daily movement, had a 73% lower risk of premature death compared to the least active group, who averaged 49 minutes. “Any type of exercise helps, but the greatest benefits come with nearly three hours of walking per day,” Veerman notes.

⚠️ Descending stair walking as exercise medicine 🏃‍♀️

See ⬇️ the practical advantages and main health-related benefits ✅

NEW #Editorial 👉 https://t.co/3ZjMkW1LU2 pic.twitter.com/FJ6QZqh8sZ

— British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM) (@BJSM_BMJ) December 21, 2024

Earlier, in November, Lennert Veerman and his team of Australian researchers — Jakob Tarp, Ruth Wijaya, Mary Njeri Wanjau, Holger Möller, Fiona Haigh, Peta Lucas, and Andrew Milat — published their study in Pub Med Central.

Their stated objective was: “Low physical activity (PA) levels are associated with increased mortality... This study estimated how much low PA reduces life expectancy, and how much life expectancy could be improved by increasing PA levels for both populations and individuals.”

Veerman is not making absurd suggestions like all of us should be hitting the gym, or running marathons, if we wish to live longer. All types of activity, including the incidental movement we clock up throughout the day, has been “vastly underestimated”, Veerman says, yet it is “enormously powerful” in its capacity to improve health outcomes.

Think out of the box. Exercise is not merely gym activities, says Veerman. “Even walking to the bus stop, pottering around the house. Everything counts,” he adds.

Being more active is the simplest step to more than halving your risk of early death. Veerman, 53, leads an intensive fitness lifestyle packed with activity. But he says, “My main message is that any activity will make a massive difference, and the first steps give you the most benefit.” 

“If you’re currently doing very little, just a bit more activity will bring very attractive benefits that might help you live longer… Find something you like, with people you like and it’s your thing. Use your watch or set a target for steps, but cut yourself some slack on days when nothing works.”

Take The Stairs, Every Time

Veerman says he makes it a point “to take the stairs every time”, and to walk up them with effort. Marching up and down more than five flights of stairs a day was associated with improved blood sugar and cholesterol levels as well as with lowering blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease, according to a 2023 paper published in the journal Atherosclerosis.

Grab the chance to stay active, Veerman says. He calls it Incidental Physical Activity.

1. Take the stairs
2. Take the bus or a metro
3. Walking to and from bus or train stations is good
4. Alternate between standing and sitting at work (pro tip: Ask for a movable desk)
5. Have walking meetings when you must discuss something with a colleague
6. Walk to the watercooler, printer, coffee machine, record room
7. Walk to the gym, local market, library
8. Walk your dog, or a friend’s dog
9. Take up weekend social activities instead of slumping on the couch
10. Maintain a journal of how much you have been on your feet

 “Little things can make a big difference over the years,” the lead researcher says.

The writer is a senior independent journalist.