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    Be more active to extend your life expectancy, study suggests

    Pabio Posted on

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    CNN
    —

    In a busy world, the task of get more movement in your daily life can often be put on the back burner.

    But there’s a reason to rethink your priorities — become as active as the richest 25% of the American population could extend their lives by at least five years, according to a new study. study published Thursday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

    “I was surprised to find that the loss of years of life in the United States due to low levels of physical activity could rival the losses due to smoking and high blood pressure,” said Dr. Lennert Veerman, lead author of the study and professor of public health in the United States. Griffith University School of Medicine and Dentistry, Australia, by email.

    Increasing your level of physical activity could extend your life by several years, according to a new study.

    Many studies have examined the links between physical activity and longevity. In fact, Veerman’s research was inspired by a 2019 study which found that the risk of premature death decreased the more participants engaged in physical activity, he said. Activity levels in this study were measured using accelerometers, wearable activity tracking devices.

    The 2019 study, along with others, had previously shown that when measured by accelerometry, the relationship between physical activity and premature death is about twice as strong as levels assessed by surveys or studies. questionnaires, Veerman said.

    “I wondered how this would translate to life expectancy and how much extra life a single hour of walking could provide,” Veerman added.

    To find out, the authors of the latest study used physical activity data captured by hip accelerometers worn – for at least 10 hours over four or more days – by adults aged 40 or older when they participated. in the National Health and Nutrition Survey from 2003 to 2006.

    The results are based on this age group because activity-related mortality rates are stable up to age 40; after that they vary. And the reason for using old activity data is methodological consistency with the 2019 study, the authors said.

    The team then built a survival table — a way of showing the probabilities that populations will live or die before a certain age. This life table was based on mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics for 2017, which the authors assumed was related to activity levels from 2003 to 2006.

    Based on this information, the authors projected how many people in the 2019 U.S. population would survive in the coming years based on activity levels, and how much additional life they could gain by increasing them.

    They found that being as active as the least active quartile of the population would result in a 5.8 year loss in life expectancy for both men and women, reducing life expectancy at birth by approximately 78 to approximately 73 years old. And if all Americans over 40 were as active as the top quartile, life expectancy would be 83.7 years, an increase of 5.3 years. Total activity levels in the lowest quartile were equivalent to walking daily for 49 minutes at approximately 3 miles per hour. Total activity levels in the second, third, and fourth highest quartiles were equivalent to 78, 105, and 160 minutes, respectively.

    The team also looked at what the potential benefits might be at an individual rather than a population level: if those who are least active were given an extra 111 minutes of activity per day, they could extend their lives by up to 11 years old.

    The findings “kind of suggest what we already knew, which is that physical activity is key to improving health outcomes (and) improving longevity,” said Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health in Denver. , who did not participate in the study. (Freeman is also a medical advisor for WeWard, an activity tracking app that also inspires users to move by allowing them to accumulate points that they can redeem for prizes or charitable donations. He has not received no financial compensation.)

    The authors’ modeling method is sound but has its limitations because it relies on existing data and provides estimates that are largely theoretical, said Dr. Peter Katzmarzyk, associate executive director for population and social sciences. public health at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University. , by email. Katzmarzyk did not participate in the study.

    The authors acknowledged that there is evidence that adherence to physical activity guidelines in the United States has improved since the mid-2000s, meaning their life expectancy projections could be overestimated. The activity levels of participants in the 2003-2006 study were also measured at a single point in time, which cannot account for changes over their lifetime.

    But researchers have already suggested how movement might be linked to longevity.

    “Physical inactivity is associated with the development of several diseases, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes and several cancers,” Katzmarzyk said. “Being physically active reduces the risk of developing and dying from these diseases.”

    If the idea of ​​becoming more active seems daunting, know that study participants’ activity levels from 2003 to 2006 didn’t come from exercise alone. They wore trackers on their hips for at least 10 waking hours over several days, meaning the devices also captured movements necessary for daily life.

    Find more moments to move throughout your day. While your food is warming up, do a few squats or take a walk around your work building instead of scrolling through social media. When shopping, park as far away from stores as possible. Have coffee with a friend? Catch up on a walk in the park instead of sitting in the cafe. Standing desks or office treadmills can be helpful at work, Freeman said.

    MORE: Exercise Quiz: Find the Best Workouts for You

    Adults need at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise per week, according to the World Health Organization. Every move counts, Veerman said, so don’t rule yourself out if you don’t meet the guidelines.

    The study found a diminishing returns effect, so exercising 23 hours a day doesn’t mean you’ll live forever, Freeman said. There is too much activity.

    Additionally, “the authors’ arguments about improving pedestrian infrastructure … are key,” said Freeman, who added that patients returning from trips to Europe often tell him they took 10,000 or 20,000 steps per day.

    “We have to figure out how to do this here in the United States,” he said, “because our health care spending is just totally unsustainable.” »

    Reducing dependence on automobiles requires collective action and long-term planning, but everyone can advocate for this change, and some people are already well-positioned to help make it happen, Veerman said .

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