Do you want to live another 5-10 years? Get into this habit, research shows

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In a busy world, tasks get more traffic can often take a backseat to your everyday life.

But there is a reason to reconsider your priorities — become just as active as the top 25% of the US population could extend their lives by at least five years, according to the new study published Thursday in British Journal of Sports Medicine.

“I was surprised to find that the years of life lost in the US due to low levels of physical activity can be comparable to those lost due to smoking and high blood pressure,” said the study’s senior author Dr. Lennert Wehrmann, a professor of public health at the US . Griffith University School of Medicine and Dentistry in Australia, by email.

Many studies have examined the relationship between physical activity and longevity. In fact, Wirman’s research was inspired 2019 research that found that the risk of premature death decreased the more physical activity participants did, he said. Activity levels in this study were measured by accelerometers, portable activity trackers.

A 2019 study, along with others, have already shown that using accelerometry, the link between physical activity and early death is about twice as strong compared to levels assessed by surveys or questionnaires, Wirman said.

“I wondered how it would affect life expectancy and how much extra life one hour of walking could bring,” Wirman added.

To find out, the authors of the latest study used physical activity data from hip accelerometers worn — for at least 10 hours for four or more days — by adults age 40 and older during the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. 2003-2006.

Conclusions are based on this age group, as the activity-dependent mortality rate is stable up to age 40; after that they change. According to the authors, the reason for using old activity data is methodological consistency with the 2019 study.

Then the team built life table — a way of showing the probability that populations will survive or die out to a certain age. This life table was based on 2017 National Center for Health Statistics mortality data, which the authors assumed were related to activity levels from 2003 to 2006.

Based on this information, the authors predicted how many people in the US population in 2019 would survive in the coming years based on their activity levels and how many extra lives they could gain by increasing them.

They found that being as active as the least active quartile of the population would result in a loss of 5.8 years of life expectancy for men and women, reducing life expectancy at birth from about 78 to about 73 years. 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. The overall activity level in the bottom quartile was equivalent to walking for 49 minutes at a speed of about 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) per hour every day. 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 the potential benefits at the individual level rather than the population level — finding that if the least active got an extra 111 minutes of activity a day, they could add 11 years to their lives.

The findings “confirm what we already know, which is that physical activity is very important for improving health outcomes (and) improving longevity,” said Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of the Division of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Health National Jewish Health in Denver. , who did not participate in the study. (Freeman is also a medical consultant for WeWard, an activity tracking app that also encourages users to move by allowing them to accumulate points that can be redeemed for prizes or charitable donations. He received no financial compensation.)

Projection of the benefits of greater traffic

The modeling method proposed by the authors is powerful but has its limitations because it relies on existing data and produces estimates that are largely theoretical, said Dr. Peter Katzmarzyk, associate executive director for population and health at Pennington Biomedical Sciences. Louisiana State University Research Center. , by e-mail. Katzmarzyk did not participate in the study.

The authors acknowledged that there is some evidence that adherence to physical activity guidelines in the United States has improved since the mid-2000s, suggesting that their life expectancy predictions may be overestimated. The activity level of study participants from 2003 to 2006 was also measured at only one point in time, which cannot account for changes over their lifetime.

But researchers have already suggested how movement can be related to longevity.

“Lack of physical activity is linked to the development of several diseases, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes and several types of cancer,” Katzmarzyk said. “Physical activity reduces the risk of developing these diseases and dying from them.”

Use opportunities to move

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

find more moments to move during the day While your food is heating up, do some squats or take a walk around your office building instead of scrolling through social media. When you run errands, park as far away from shops as possible. Have coffee with a friend? Catch up on a walk in the park instead of sitting in a cafe. Standing desks or tabletop treadmills can be great for working out, Freeman said.

MORE: Exercise Quiz: Find the best workouts for you

Adults need at least 150 to 300 minutes with moderate aerobic activity or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise per week, according to the World Health Organization. Wirman said every move counts, so don’t beat yourself up if you don’t follow the instructions.

The study found a diminishing return effect, so exercising 23 hours a day doesn’t mean you’ll live forever, Freeman said. There is such a thing as excessive activity.

Also, “the authors’ points about improving walking infrastructure … are critical,” said Freeman, who added that patients returning from trips to Europe often tell him they walked 10,000 or 20,000 steps each day.

“We need to figure out how to do it here in the States,” he said, “because our health care costs are absolutely unreasonable.”

Reducing dependence on cars requires collective action and long-term planning, but everyone can make a difference, and some people are already ready to help make it happen, Weerman said.

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