How to Have Better Life

March 10, 2026

A study has found a link between reduced levels of physical exercise and lower quality of life in people over sixty. The study was published in the Health and Quality of Life Outcomes journal.

The same held true for increases in sedentary activities like TV watching and reading. This, according to the researchers, emphasises the necessity of motivating older persons to keep active.

Physical activity is known to lower your chance of developing a number of diseases, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer, especially when it is moderately intense and increases your heart rate. Adults should engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise each week, according to the NHS.

Additionally, it is advised that older persons alternate extended stretches of inactivity with brief moments of light movement, or at the very least, standing, as this has clear advantages for their health.

A team led by researchers at the University of Cambridge examined activity levels among 1,433 participants aged 60 and above using accelerometers. The participants had been recruited to the EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer)-Norfolk study.

Alongside this, the team also looked at health-related quality of life, a measure of health and well-being that includes pain, ability to care for yourself and anxiety/mood. Participants were given a score between 0 (worst quality of life) and 1 (best) based on their responses to a questionnaire. Lower quality of life scores are linked with an increased risk of hospitalisation, worse outcomes following hospitalisation, and early death.

Participants were followed up an average of just under six years later to look at changes in their behaviour and quality of life. On average, six years after their first assessment, both men and women were doing around 24 minutes less moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day. At the same time, the total sedentary time increased by an average of around 33 minutes a day for men and around 38 minutes a day for women.

Those individuals who did more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and spent less time sedentary at their first assessment had a higher quality of life later on. An hour a day spent more active was associated with a 0.02 higher quality of life score.

For every minute a day less of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity measured six years after the first assessment, quality of life scores dropped by 0.03. This means that an individual who spent 15 minutes a day less engaged in such activity would have seen their score drop by 0.45.