Inactive people can reduce risk of death by 30% with five minutes of exercise a day

"Exercise is the best tool for delaying illness and death, even in small doses, and especially for the least active people. The study, led by Ulf Ekelund of the Norwegian School of Sport Science, estimates that if the least active 20% of people added five minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise per day, equivalent to a brisk walk, 6% of premature deaths in this high-risk group could be prevented."

"The same study points to another easy measure that can improve the health of millions of people: reducing sitting time by 30 minutes a day, with short walks of a couple of minutes every hour, for example, could prevent between 3% and 7% of premature deaths. The results suggest that the most sedentary people benefit more from increased vigorous exercise."

Analysis of over 135,000 people (average age 64) estimated that adding five minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity daily among the least active 20% could prevent 6% of premature deaths in that group. If the entire population, excluding the most active 20%, adopted this increase, premature mortality could fall by 10%. Reducing sitting time by 30 minutes daily with short hourly walks could prevent 3–7% of premature deaths. Very inactive individuals gain the largest relative benefit from small increases in vigorous exercise; benefits plateau beyond about 24 minutes of daily activity. Data from 60,000 UK Biobank participants indicate sleep, activity, and nutrition act synergistically to influence life expectancy and healthy years lived.

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