People taking the stairs instead of elevator at work can expect to live longer, according to a Swiss study released on Monday.

Regularly walking from floor to floor in an office building decreased mortality risk by 15 percent, said Dr. Philippe Meyer, the main author of the study, which was done at the University Hospital of Geneva.

Banning the use of lifts and escalators led to better fitness, less body fat, trimmer waistlines and a drop in blood pressure, the study found.

Using the stairs improves fitness, body composition, blood pressure and lipid profiles, Meyer was quoted as saying by the Swissinfo news website.

"The challenge remains to develop successful population-based interventions, which promote physical activities that can be easily integrated into everyday life," he said.

For the study, 77 employees from Geneva University with a sedentary lifestyle were recruited to take only the stairs over a three-month period, Swissinfo reported.

Results showed an increase in aerobic capacity, a decline in waist circumference, weight, fat mass, blood pressure and cholesterol.

"This suggests that stair climbing can have major public health implications." Meyer said.

Professor Adam Timmis, consultant cardiologist at The London NHS Trust, said: "It's a small study but valuable because it provides a practical way for busy working people to increase their exercise capacity.

"Although the amount of exercise appears small, the benefits were clear in improving physical fitness and reducing body fat and blood pressure."

本周一公布的一項瑞士研究表明，上下班不坐電梯走樓梯能讓你更長壽。

據研究負責人菲利普•邁爾博士介紹，上下班堅持走樓梯能夠將死亡風險降低15%。

據該項在日內瓦大學附屬醫院開展的研究發現，上下班堅持走樓梯能夠增強體質，而且能減掉脂肪、腰圍和降血壓。

瑞士資訊網援引邁爾博士的話說，堅持爬樓梯能夠提高身體素質，改善身體結構、血壓和血脂水平。

他說：“走樓梯上下班有待發展成為改善公眾健康的一大方式，這不僅能鍛煉身體，在日常生活中也很容易做到。”

據瑞士資訊網報道，研究人員從日內瓦大學邀請了77名平時有久坐習慣的員工參與該研究，讓他們在三個月內只能走樓梯上下班。

三個月后，研究人員發現，這些人的有氧能力得以增強，而且腰圍、體重、脂肪指數、血壓和膽固醇水平都有所下降。

邁爾博士說：“這說明爬樓梯對改善公眾健康能起到很大作用。”

“倫敦全民健康醫療服務基金會”心臟病專家顧問亞當•迪米斯教授說：“雖然這項研究規模不大，但很有價值，因為它為‘上班族’們提供了一種很實用的鍛煉身體的辦法。”

“盡管運動量看起來很小，但對于增強體質、減少身體脂肪和降血壓卻有明顯效果。”