Walking Just 10 Minutes Daily May Reduce Inflammation

Chronic inflammation is associated with many chronic diseases, but a new study has found that moderate exercise for just 10 minutes per day may reduce inflammation levels.

There is no shortage of advice about how to reduce disease risk and improve health, but not all suggestions are accessible to the average person. A new study, however, has found that even small changes can have a significant impact on health.

The preliminary study, presented at the American Society for Nutrition’s annual meeting, suggests that just 10 minutes of daily moderate exercise — including walking — is linked to reduced inflammation and depressive symptoms.

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“There is a plethora of public health advice out there, and my co-author and I were interested in looking at whether any small, attainable lifestyle behaviors were associated with disease risk,” study co-author Jacqueline A. Vernarelli, Ph.D., the director of research education and an associate professor at Sacred Heart University, tells Healthnews.

Defined as slow, long-term inflammation that lasts anywhere from prolonged periods to months or years, developing chronic inflammation has been linked to many conditions including cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, mellitus, chronic kidney disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, autoimmune disorders, and neurodegenerative disorders, as well as a risk of metabolic syndrome.

While the relationship between exercise and reduced inflammation has been researched previously, studies have produced mixed results.

For this study, Vernarelli and her research partner, Kayla D. Champagne, MPH, analyzed data from a nationally representative sample of 7,910 adults over 18 years-old who participated in the 2017-2020 NHANES pre-pandemic data collection. Participants in the study underwent a full physical examination, had inflammation assessed through bloodwork, and responded to questionnaires about physical activity. The models were adjusted for age, sex, race, educational attainment, and household income.

Vernarelli and Champagne found that adults who reported engaging in as few as 10 minutes a day of moderate activity had significantly lower levels of inflammation than sedentary adults.

Regular physical activity was also associated with lower depressive symptoms, a finding that further validates previous research which suggests that exercise can significantly improve mental health. On the other hand, higher consumption of added sugar was associated with higher inflammation levels.

“We are all busy,” Vernarelli says. “It’s hard to find time for ourselves, and often, folks say it is hard to find time for exercise.”

But the researcher says she was surprised to find that something as simple as 10 minutes of moderate exercise every day is associated with lower inflammatory markers — demonstrating that making healthy choices may not be as daunting or time-consuming as many believe it to be.

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She says it’s important to note that correlation is not causation, explaining that these results represent a snapshot in time, and more research is needed to understand long-term effects.

“My take home message for everyone is: It’s better to do something small (10 minutes!) every day than focus on really intensive exercise only a few days each week,” she says “Even in our busy lives, we all can find 10 minutes to help our health.”

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