You May Live Longer if You Start Exercising Now
A study in the March 6 issue of the journal BMJ finds that men who increase their level of physical activity after age 40 had lower risk of death after 35 years. The study was completed in Sweden by researchers at Uppsala University and the Karolinska Institute. The change in mortality still held true in statistical models that included things that might be related to someone exercising, such as smoking, weight, self-reported health, and alcohol use. Those who had the lowest level of physical activity had greater risk of dying over the 35-year follow-up.
The authors studied a group of 2,841 men (yes, men only) who were born between 1920 and 1924 in the area around Uppsala, Sweden. They were followed up on several occasions, the most recent in 2006. At the end of the study, 20% more of the men in the most active group were still alive compared to men in the least active group. Again, this was after controlling for a number of variables that might have also been different in the two groups.
Most interesting to me was how activity levels were defined. The researchers asked participants only four questions. The first asked whether the man spent most of his time reading, watching TV, or engaged in sedentary activities. Persons who answered yes were placed in the lowest activity group. The second question asked whether the man walked or bicycled freqently for pleasure. Persons answering yes to this question were in the middle group. The last two questions asked whether the men participated regularly in sports or other active recreational sport, and whether they engaged regularly in hard physical training. People who answered yes to either of these questions were placed in the high activity group.
People in the lowest activity had the highest chances of dying in the followup period, while those in the middle activity group had an intermediate risk of death. Those in the highest activity level group had the lowest risk of death.
Based on this study, almost any increase in physical activity is probably beneficial. Many other studies have shown that increasing physical activity helps you lose weight, makes it more likely that you’ll quit smoking, and means that you’ll feel better about your health. This study is new in showing that the health benefits of exercise may have effects that last a lifetime.
This article is freely available on the Web at the BMJ site: Click here to view the abstract. You can read the entire article by clicking on the words “Full Text” at the upper left of the page.
