After taking into account differences in age, weight, sex and a range of health-related indicators, they found that just 15 minutes of moderate exercise a day increased life expectancy by three years compared to those who remained inactive.

"The first 15 minutes ... the benefits are enormous," Wen said.

Daily exercise was also linked to a lower incidence of cancer, and appeared to reduce cancer-related deaths in one person in ten.

"Sooner or later, you are going to die. But compared to the inactive group, the low exercise group has a reduction of 10 percent in cancer mortality," Wen said.

http://owl.li/656lw