Regular physical activity can significantly extend lifespan, with active individuals over 40 potentially living five years longer. The study urges updates to activity guidelines and investments in promoting active environments.
A new study led by Griffith University researchers suggests that if everyone in the United States were as active as the top 25 percent of the population, individuals over 40 could gain an additional five years of life.
Physical activity has long been known to be good for health, however, estimates have varied regarding how much benefit could be gained from a defined amount of activity, both for individuals and for populations.
This latest study used accelerometry to gain an accurate view of the population’s physical activity levels instead of relying on survey responses as per other studies, and found the benefits were around twice as strong as previous estimates.
Significant Risk Reduction and Longevity Benefits
It found the most active quarter of people in the community had a 73 percent lower risk of death than their least active counterparts. For that least active quartile, a single one-hour walk could potentially return a benefit of around six additional hours of life.
Lead researcher Professor Lennert Veerman said this least-active cohort had the greatest potential for health gains.
“If you’re already very active or in that top quartile, an extra hour’s walk may not make much difference as you’ve, in a sense, already ‘maxed out’ your benefit,” he said.
“If the least active quartile of the population over age 40 were to increase their activity level to that of the most active quartile, however, they might live, on average, about 11 years longer. This is not an unreasonable prospect, as 25 percent of the population is already doing it. It can be any type of exercise but would roughly be the equivalent of just under three hours of walking per day.”
Physical Activity vs. Smoking: A Comparative Perspective
The research team suggested low levels of physical activity could even rival the negative effects of smoking, with other research finding each cigarette could take 11 minutes from a smoker’s life.
By extension, a more active lifestyle could also offer protective effects against heart disease, stroke, certain cancers, and other chronic illnesses, with the study’s findings highlighting a need for national physical activity guidelines to be revisited using these methods.
Dr. Veerman said physical activity had been vastly underestimated in its capacity to improve health outcomes, suggesting even modest increases in movement could lead to significant life-extension benefits.
“If there’s something you could do to more than halve your risk of death, physical activity is enormously powerful,” he said.
“If we could increase investment in promoting physical activity and creating living environments that promote it such as walkable or cyclable neighborhoods and convenient, affordable public transport systems, we could not only increase longevity but also reduce pressure on our health systems and the environment.”
Reference: “Physical activity and life expectancy: a life-table analysis” by Lennert Veerman, Jakob Tarp, Ruth Wijaya, Mary Njeri Wanjau, Holger Möller, Fiona Haigh, Peta Lucas and Andrew Milat, 14 November 2024, British Journal of Sports Medicine.
DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2024-108125
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4 Comments
As is often the case, they have established a correlation between physical activity and longevity. However, where is the evidence for cause and effect? It could be that mental attitude or chronic, low-grade co-morbidity discourages some people from activity. Thus, low-level physical activity would be a symptom of what is actually responsible for a shortened longevity. Researchers need to consider alternative hypotheses and confounding factors, not just look for correlations.
“If the least active quartile of the population over age 40 were to increase their activity level to that of the most active quartile, however, they might live, on average, about 11 years longer. This is not an unreasonable prospect, as 25 percent of the population is already doing it. It can be any type of exercise but would roughly be the equivalent of just under three hours of walking per day.”
I find it hard to believe that 25% of people over 40 are doing the equivalent of walking 3 hours per day.
I am 41, and i have a 2yo. We play all day. Lots of pulling him around in boxes or laundry baskets, jumping on the trampoline/bouncy house, running back and forth between the swings and the slide. I have to chase down every ball or car that goes anywhere. We sing and dance (head sholders knees and toes, hokey pokey) and i have to cook, clean and do laundry as well as help out with farm chores while keeping him entertained. I get my rump kicked every day! (And i am still 20-30 lbs over weight) My husband is 49. He throws about 150 80-90 lb bales of alfalfa onto a truck piled up to 4 bailes high while running behind a truck that is driving its self (ideling) 3x a year. Driving a tractor isn’t arobics but it is an upper body workout. Plus hes always with the chainsaw, climbing ladders, repairing roofs, digging irrigation ditches. I can see how people over 40 can be very active without actually calling it exercize.
Personally, I will be 67 in February, and I can honestly say that you walk very close to 3 hours per day.