New research suggests that not just how much people exercise, but how varied their activity is, may influence longevity.
A growing body of research suggests that how you exercise may matter just as much as how much you exercise. A new study published in BMJ Medicine reports that regularly engaging in a variety of physical activities is linked to a longer lifespan, though the benefits appear to peak beyond a certain level of effort.
Rather than repeating the same routine, mixing different forms of movement, such as walking, strength training, or racquet sports, may offer broader health advantages. The researchers emphasize that staying active overall remains critical, but their findings point to a more nuanced picture of how physical activity supports longevity.
Although physical activity is consistently associated with better physical and mental health and reduced mortality risk, the specific effects of different types of exercise are less clear. It is also uncertain whether variety offers advantages beyond total activity levels.
Study Design and Participants
To investigate, researchers analyzed data from two large long-term studies: the Nurses’ Health Study (121,700 female participants) and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (51,529 male participants). Both tracked physical activity repeatedly over more than 30 years.
Participants provided information on personal characteristics, medical history, and lifestyle habits at enrollment and updated this information every two years through questionnaires.
Starting in 1986, participants reported activities such as walking, jogging, running, cycling (including stationary cycling), lap swimming, rowing or calisthenics, and racquet sports like tennis and squash.
Later surveys added questions about weight training or resistance exercise, lower intensity activities such as yoga and stretching, vigorous tasks like lawn mowing, moderate outdoor work such as gardening, and more strenuous labor like digging.
Participants also reported how many flights of stairs they climbed each day, based on an estimate of 8 seconds per flight.
The analysis of total activity included 111,467 individuals, while the analysis of activity variety included 111,373 participants. Researchers calculated MET scores by multiplying time spent on each activity (hours per week) by its MET value, which reflects how much energy the activity uses compared to rest.
Participants reported up to 11 activities in the Nurses’ Health Study and up to 13 in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. Walking was the most common activity in both groups, and men were more likely than women to run or jog.
Lifestyle Patterns and Mortality Data
Those with higher overall activity levels were less likely to smoke or have high blood pressure or high cholesterol. They also tended to have lower body mass index, healthier diets, moderate alcohol intake, stronger social connections, and more varied activity habits.
Over more than three decades of follow-up, 38,847 participants died, including 9,901 from cardiovascular disease, 10,719 from cancer, and 3,159 from respiratory disease.
Higher total activity levels and most individual types of exercise, except swimming, were linked to lower risk of death from any cause. However, the benefits were not linear. The reduction in risk appeared to plateau at about 20 weekly MET hours, suggesting a possible optimal level.
Walking showed the strongest association, with a 17% lower risk of death among those who walked the most compared to those who walked the least. Climbing stairs was linked to a 10% reduction.
Other activities were also associated with lower risk when comparing the least active to the most active participants: racquet sports 15%, rowing or calisthenics 14%, weight training 13%, running 13%, jogging 11%, and cycling 4%.
Importance of Activity Variety
Engaging in a wider range of activities was independently associated with lower mortality. After accounting for total activity, those with the greatest variety had a 19% lower risk of death from all causes.
They also showed a 13–41% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory disease, and other causes.
Because this is an observational study, it cannot establish cause and effect. The researchers also note several limitations.
Physical activity was self-reported rather than measured directly, which may affect accuracy. MET scores assumed consistent effort, and the lack of detailed intensity data may have led to misclassification of energy use.
Most participants were White, which may limit how widely the findings apply.
Nevertheless, the researchers conclude: “Overall, these data support the notion that long-term engagement in multiple types of physical activity may help extend the lifespan.”
Reference: “Physical activity types, variety, and mortality: results from two prospective cohort studies” by Han Han, Jinbo Hu, Dong Hoon Lee, Yiwen Zhang, Edward Giovannucci, Meir J Stampfer, Frank B Hu, Yang Hu and Qi Sun, 20 January 2026, BMJ Medicine.
DOI: 10.1136/bmjmed-2025-001513
The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
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1 Comment
Any study with self reported results is of dubious worth.