Even if they were inactive during their younger years, middle aged and older adults who get at least the minimum recommended amount of exercise each week may live longer than their sedentary counterparts, suggests a large UK study. Physical activity has long been linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers.
But most research has looked at exercise habits at a single point in time rather than activity patterns across the years, researchers note in The BMJ. For the current study, researchers assessed activity levels several times over eight years for 14,599 men and women who were between 40 and 80 years old at the outset.
After the first eight years, researchers started tracking mortality for another 12.5 years, on average. During that period, there were 3,148 deaths, including 950 from cardiovascular disease and 1,091 from cancer. The researchers measured both work and leisure-time physical activity in terms of energy expended per kilogram of body weight.
Activity increases over time that were equivalent to going from sedentary to meeting the World Health Organization's recommendation of at least 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity were associated with a 24% lower risk of death from any cause, a 29% lower risk of cardiovascular death and an 11% lower risk of cancer death compared to those who remained inactive.