Exercise can reduce hospital stays, says study. (Source: Getty Images)

People between ages 40-79 are at a much lower risk of long or frequent hospital admissions if they engage in some physical activity, suggests a new study.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Public Health and Primary Care and MRC Epidemiology Unit, found that exercise cuts up to 25-27 per cent of the risk of frequent stays at the hospital. Inactive participants spent over four days more in the hospital in a span of ten years than those those who did some physical activity.

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The participants were scored after combining their leisure and occupational activities both in summer and winter. The study argued that people with a physical activity score of at least “moderately inactive” had fewer hospital admissions and spent fewer days in hospital as compared to those who were “inactive”.

The findings were published in the journal BMC Geriatrics. The study analysed 9827 participants with repeated measurements. Those who remained active or increased their activity were 34 per cent less likely to spend more than 20 days in the hospital or more than seven admissions per year, in a span of 10 years.

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“Our study provides some of the clearest evidence yet that small, feasible increases in usual physical activity substantially reduce the future hospital usage of middle-aged and older people,” lead author Ribert Luben, Institute of Public Health, said in a statement.