Now a new study has backed this up. Afterhat just 10 minutes of regular aerobic exercise a week can substantially cut the risk of death from flu orWhen it comes to moderate-to-vigorous physical activity , the recommended level is at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity activities , or 75 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity activities .
The relative risk of dying from flu or pneumonia dropped by 21 percent on average in this 10-150 weekly minutes group, compared with those who did no exercise at all, based on 20 years of data. In other words, some activity is better than none. The team also looked at muscle-strengthening activity : the recommended weekly amount for this is at least two sessions per week. Taken with MVPA, those who met both targets averaged a 48 percent reduction in risk of death from flu or pneumonia, compared with those who met neither target.
"Independent of achieving the aerobic guideline, adults who performed 2 MSA episodes/week had lower mortality than those who performed fewer than 2 episodes, while mortality was higher among those who performed 7 or more episodes,"Despite the large sample size, the study has its limitations – not least that it's based on surveys filled out by the participants, not direct observations.