People looking for ways to increase their life expectancy should start by exercising regularly, the Health Promotion Administration said yesterday, citing a study showing that exercising for 15 minutes per day can add an average of three years to a person’s life.
Health Promotion Administration Director-General Chiu Shu-ti (邱淑媞) made the remarks at a press conference in Taipei, as the agency released a new version of an exercise guidebook to promote the benefits of regular exercise.
“Most people have difficulty adhering to the widely adopted physical guidelines for adults, which require them to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week,” Chiu said.
However, under the agency’s new exercise guideline, people only have to work out 15 minutes a day or 90 minutes a week to get healthier and see their risk of dying from a variety of diseases greatly reduced, Chiu said.
The new guidelines are based on the results of a 2011 study conducted by National Health Research Institutes researcher Wen Chi-pang (溫啟邦).
The study monitored the health of about 416,000 Taiwanese who participated in a standard medical screening program from 1996 to 2008 for an average of eight years, and who were divided into five groups: inactive, low, medium, high or very high exercise activity.
Compared with inactive participants, the study found that people in the low activity group who speed-walked 15 minutes every day over eight years enjoyed a three-year longer life expectancy, a 14 percent reduced risk of all-cause mortality and a 10 percent lowered chance of dying from cancer.
Those who exercised for an additional 15 minutes per day saw their lifespan further increased by one year, the study showed.
“Not only can people who keep doing this [speed-walking] everyday, for about 90 minutes a week, live three years longer, but they can also greatly lower their risk of dying or developing cancer, heart disease, diabetes and many other diseases,” Wen said.
However, Wen added that only physical activities that were done “on purpose” could achieve such effects.
Chiu said that exercise is a great equalizer because everyone receives the same health benefits regardless of their financial status.
“Those who are willing to exercise are rewarded with the most valuable asset — health. On the other hand, those who do not do so increase their chances of developing breast or colorectal cancer by 25 percent, diabetes by 27 percent and ischemic heart disease by 30 percent,” Chiu said.
The Grand Hotel Taipei on Saturday confirmed that its information system had been illegally accessed and expressed its deepest apologies for the concern it has caused its customers, adding that the issue is being investigated by the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau. The hotel said that on Tuesday last week, it had discovered an external illegal intrusion into its information system. An initial digital forensic investigation confirmed that parts of the system had been accessed, it said, adding that the possibility that some customer data were stolen and leaked could not be ruled out. The actual scope and content of the affected data
DO THEY BITE IT? Cats have better memories than people might think, but their motivation is based entirely around the chance of getting fed Cats can remember the identity of the people who fed them the day before, Taipei-based veterinarians said on Friday, debunking a popular myth that cats have a short memory. If a stray does not recognize the person who fed them the previous day, it is likely because they are not carrying food and the cat has no reason to recognize them, said Wu Chou Animal Hospital head Chen Chen-huan (陳震寰). “When cats come to a human bearing food, it is coming for the food, not the person,” he said. “The food is the key.” Since the cat’s attention is on the food, it
People hold incense and pray with offerings in front of Taipei’s Kuanghwa Market yesterday. The fifth day of the Lunar New Year is traditionally about welcoming the God of Wealth, during which companies and shops set off firecrackers to celebrate their reopening and pray for good business in the new year.
Taiwan must act to preempt potential Section 301 investigations as US President Donald Trump moves to a new tariff strategy, following a US Supreme Court ruling that voided tariff measures, an academic said yesterday. Countries running the largest trade surpluses with the US face a growing likelihood of Section 301 investigations, Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said. Section 301 refers to a provision of the Trade Act of 1974 that allows Washington to impose retaliatory tariffs over perceived unfair trade practices, including the running of large trade surpluses. Because Taiwan has become the fourth-largest source of the US’ trade
RSS