One of the largest ever mass studies on the benefits of exercise has concluded that just 15 minutes of physical activity a day can boost a person's life expectancy by up to three years.

The research, conducted by the Taiwan Department of Health between 1996 and 2008, involved 416,175 individuals in standard medical screening programmes with people being placed into one of five categories of exercise volumes: inactive, low, medium, high, or very high activity.

Compared with individuals in the inactive group, those in the low-volume activity group, who exercised for an average of 92 min per week or 15 min a day, had a 14 per cent reduced risk of all-cause mortality and had a three year longer life expectancy.

Every additional 15 min of daily exercise beyond the minimum amount of 15 min a day further reduced all-cause mortality by 4 per cent and all-cancer mortality by 1 per cent.

These benefits were applicable to all age groups and both sexes, and to those with cardiovascular disease risks.

Individuals who were inactive had a 17 per cent increased risk of mortality compared with individuals in the low-volume group.

The results of the study were published in the latest issue of medical journal Lancet. To read more, click here.