Two听studies by researchers at the 爆料王 have shown that听small changes听to daily habits听can have significant impact on long-term health and longevity.听
搁别蝉别补谤肠丑听濒别诲听Dr Nicholas听Koemel听from the Mackenzie Wearables Hub at the听Charles Perkins Centre听showed that听a few combined tweaks to听sleep, diet and physical activity can increase an individual鈥檚 lifespan and听years spent in听good听health.听
The study, published in听,听showed that by getting an additional five minutes of sleep, two minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (such as brisk walking or taking the stairs) and an additional half serving of vegetables per day could lead to an extra year of life for those who currently had听poor sleep, physical activity and dietary habits.听
Getting seven to eight hours of sleep per day, more than 40 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity a day and听a听healthy diet, were associated with over nine years of听additional听lifespan and years spent in good health, compared to those with the worst听sleep, physical听activity听and dietary habits.听
Dr听Koemel听said: 鈥淪leep, physical activity and nutrition are all factors known to be linked to healthier听lives,听but they are usually studied in isolation.
鈥淏y investigating these factors听in combination, we can听see that听even small tweaks have a significant cumulative impact over the听long-term.鈥澨
The study looked at almost 60,000 people in the UK Biobank cohort recruited between 2006-2010 and followed for an average of eight years.听Sleep and physical activity were measured using wrist-worn accelerometers over seven days, while diet quality was assessed via a validated questionnaire听and given听a听Diet Quality Score.听
Meanwhile,听a study in the听听co-led by听Professor Melody Ding听from the听School of Public Health听found that听small increases in daily physical activity had an impact on early mortality.听
Studying data from more than 135,000 adults across seven cohorts in Norway, Sweden, and the United States, as well as the UK Biobank, Professor Ding and her team found that, for the majority听(80 percent)听of adults,听walking an extra five minutes a day at a moderate pace would reduce the chance of an early death by 10 percent.听
The majority听(80 percent)听of听adults spend 10 hours being sedentary per听day听and the study also found that reducing sedentary time by 30 minutes per day for these adults was associated with an estimated鈥7 percent reduction in all听deaths.听
Professor Ding said: 鈥淚nactive听lifestyles are associated with a range of听health听problems听and this study shows the huge public health benefit from even small increases in physical activity.鈥
听
Research听
Koemel, N., Stamatakis, E., et al.听鈥楳inimum combined听sleep,听physical听activity, and听nutrition variations associated with听lifeSPAN听and听healthSPAN听improvements: a population cohort听study鈥櫶(eClinicalMedicine, 2026)
DOI:听10.1016/j.eclinm.2025.103741
Ding, D., et al., 鈥楧eaths potentially averted by听small changes听in physical activity and sedentary time: an听individual听participant data meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies鈥櫶(Lancet, 2026)听
DOI:听10.1016/S0140-6736(25)02219-6
Declaration听
eClinicalMedicine:听
Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis is a paid consultant and holds equity in Complement 1, a US-based startup whose products and services relate to physical activity promotion and other lifestyle changes.听
听is a large-scale biomedical database and research resource听containing听anonymised genetic, lifestyle and health information from half a million UK participants. UK Biobank鈥檚 database, which includes blood samples, heart and brain scans and genetic data of the volunteer participants, is globally accessible to approved researchers who are undertaking health-related research听that鈥檚听in the public interest.
UK Biobank鈥檚 resource was opened for research use in April 2012. Since听then,听30000 researchers from 100 countries have been approved to use it and more than 5000 peer-reviewed papers that used the resource have now been published.
Lancet:
Professor Ding declares no funding and no conflicts of interest.听
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