Finding better health in 15 minutets flat

Now this is one piece of research I can really get behind: Exercising less than the recommended 30 minutes a day still has benefits.

Until now, 30 minutes a day (or 150 minutes a week) of moderate exercise has been the gold standard. It was shown to reduce the average risk of death by 30 percent. However, new research has shown that the recommended level of exercise didn't consider the needs and health of seniors – more than 60 percent of whom weren't up to doing that much exercise (and were therefore likely to be discouraged from trying at all).

A French study monitored the health and activity levels of seniors over the age of 65 for 13 years. The results were as follows: Those who did the 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise (for example, brisk walking) had a 57 percent lower risk of death. That's significantly more than the 30 percent previously calculated for that level of exercise.

The big news, however, for those of us who aren't fans of exercise, is that 15 minutes a day, five days a week, is a good target for seniors. That can include swimming, riding a bike, brisk walking, dancing, Ping-Pong, badminton – anything that gets you moving for 15 minutes.

Granted, that 15 minutes a day (or 75 minutes per week) only gets you a 22 percent lower risk for mortality, but it's a start. My theory: Once we start with that 15 minutes, we're likely to increase it a little at a time. Bump that up a few minutes per day, and we can raise that to a 51 percent lower risk.

(c) 2015 King Features Synd., Inc.