Five minutes more exercise each day and half an hour less sitting time each day could help millions of people live longer, according to an international study.

Deaths potentially averted by small changes in physical activity and sedentary time: an individual participant meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies was published in The Lancet and shows the compound benefits of tiny lifestyle changes.

Researchers analysed data from more than 135,000 adults in Norway, Sweden, the USA and the UK to understand how small, realistic changes in daily habits could impact mortality.

For the least active, adding just five minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity a day could prevent about 6 per cent of deaths and when applied across the population this figure rises to 10 per cent.

Sitting for 30 minutes less each day could prevent around 3 per cent of deaths among the least active and 7 per cent across the population.

“These results show that small steps can have a large impact,” says Maria Hagströmer, co-author of the study. “You don’t need to run marathons – just a few extra minutes of brisk walking each day can make a difference.”

Ing-Mari Dohrn, another co-author, says: “Our study focuses on realistic changes. For many people, reducing sitting time or adding short bouts of activity is more achievable than large lifestyle modifications.”

While the researchers emphasise these changes are not a substitute for regular exercise, they do highlight how small adjustments can contribute to better health at a population level.

The study was a collaboration between between researchers from Sweden (Karolinska Institutet, Uppsala University), Norway (Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Arctic University of Norway and University Hospital Oslo), Spain (University of Vigo, Pontevedra), Australia (The University of Sydney), and USA (Columbia University Medical Center, San Diego State University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School).