Five minutes of exercise a day? Health expert warns against too-low bar

While the idea that minimal physical activity suffices for health is gaining traction, Professor Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, urges caution against oversimplified conclusions. She refers to a recent study in The Lancet that modeled the effect of adding five minutes of moderate activity on mortality. Researchers used data from seven large studies in the US, Norway, and Sweden (about 40,000 participants) as well as UK Biobank data (95,000 participants). Their modeling estimated a 6–10% reduction in deaths in the multi-country studies, with a similar but smaller effect in the Biobank data.

Sridhar emphasizes that this is not a causal study – it did not observe sedentary individuals asked to do five minutes of exercise. Instead, existing data were used to model the relationship between activity and death. She notes that the findings reinforce that something is better than nothing and that the biggest gains are for the most inactive, but says one should not base a workout routine on it.

Moreover, Sridhar criticizes the focus on time increments alone, ignoring the types of movement needed. The body requires three forms: cardio (heart and blood vessel strengthening), strength (maintaining muscle mass), and flexibility (reducing injury and chronic pain risk). The World Health Organization, based on extensive evidence, recommends adults get 20–40 minutes of moderate activity daily (150–300 minutes per week).

The professor concludes that five minutes a day is not enough to stay healthy and fit into old age. She calls on society to find 20 minutes a day – the minimum she considers achievable. "We cannot lower the bar so much that it becomes meaningless," she adds.