New Delhi (PTI): Thirty minutes of exercise five days a week can significantly reduce your risk of dying early and of developing heart disease, even if a sports club or gym is not an option, according to a new study published in the Lancet journal.

One in 12 deaths can be prevented globally and one in 20 cases of cardiovascular disease could be prevented if everyone did physical activity — whether it’s going to the gym, walking to work, or household chores — for 30 minutes five days a week, the study stated.

The researchers tracked over 130,000 people in 17 countries, including 24,000 in India.

The study states that physical activity is associated with a lower risk of mortality and cardiovascular disease including death from cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke, or heart failure.

“Physical activity for as little as 30 minutes, whether it is walking to work or doing household chores, most days of the week has a substantial benefit, and higher physical activity is associated with even lower risks,” said the study’s lead author, Prof. Scott Lear, Heart and Stroke Foundation chair in cardiovascular prevention research at St Paul’s Hospital in Canada.