Life extension by slight movement

Even moderate physical activity can prolong life, according to a study

07.11.2012

Already light physical activities in the spare time increase the life expectancy. The research team led by Steven Moore of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, has conducted a comprehensive analysis of possible effects of physical activity on life expectancy, and the findings are now in the journal „PLoS Medicine“ released.

Even slight movement, according to the results of the current study, significantly increase life expectancy. For their analysis, the researchers used the „Data from six prospective cohort studies from the National Cancer Institute Cohort Consortium“, based on 654,827 individuals between the ages of 21 to 90 years. In addition to the physical activities, the scientists also considered the body mass index (BMI) of the subjects. In terms of life expectancy, they found the largest discrepancies between lean, physically active and obese inactive study participants. Inactive slimmers, however, died sooner than active overweight, suggesting that physical activity has a greater impact on life expectancy than body weight.

Live longer by walks
Together with Scandinavian researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm (Sweden), the Norwegian Cancer Registry in Oslo, the Institute for Community Medicine in Tromso (Norway) and the non-governmental organization Samfundet Folkhalsan in Helsinki (Finland), the US scientists around Steven Moore have the data from the evaluated in previous cohort studies. As part of the underlying studies, subjects were followed for an average of ten years. In total, there were 82,465 deaths in persons over 40 years of age during the study period. The deaths associated with physical activity have been shown to be low „physical activity from 0.1 to 3.74 hours per week“ Life expectancy increased significantly, Moore and colleagues report. Fast walking of 75 minutes per week brings an average of already 1.8 years extra life.

Active thickness live longer than inactive normal weight
Taking into account the BMI of the subjects, the researchers found that normal weight (BMI 18.5 to 25), who were barely physically active, died on average 3.1 years earlier than the thickness (BMI 30 to 34.9) moved a lot in their free time. From a BMI of 30, people are classified as obese (obese) according to the World Health Organization (WHO) classification. The clearest difference in life expectancy was found by the researchers at an average of 7.2 years between inactive, extremely obese people (BMI over 35) and physically active (7.5 hours exercise weekly), normal weight study participants (BMI 18.5 to 25). Only deaths of persons over the age of 40 were considered in the analysis.

Moderate physical activity with positive health effects
According to the researchers, the current results clarify that already „moderate physical activity can have a positive effect on your health - even if it does not lead to weight loss.“ Steven Moore and colleagues hope that their study will also be able to convince inactive people that "even light exercise, such as regular gardening or brisk walking, is worthwhile in the sense of one's own life expectancy". Desirable would be according to the latest findings, "a combination of a lot of movement and normal weight". However, most would have realized this without the comprehensive study of the Scandinavian-American research team. For many, however, could be the realization that even slight movement is sufficient to achieve a positive effect. It does not necessarily have to be sport.

Lack of exercise is a common risk factor
The renowned sports scientist, Professor Ingo Froböse, from the German Sport University in Cologne explained in the light of the current study to the news agency „dpa“, that the widespread „sedentary lifestyle is a real risk factor“ be. Physical inactivity is now a significant problem worldwide. This is associated with a variety of health risks and „According to current WHO figures, we have 3.2 million physical inactivity deaths per year“, explained Prof. Froböse. Most recently, a research team arrived in June. I-Min Lee from Harvard Medical School concluded that „physical inactivity accounts for six percent of the disease burden of coronary heart disease, seven percent of type 2 diabetes, ten percent of breast cancers, and ten percent of colon cancers“ caused. Like the scientists in the trade magazine „The Lancet“ emphasized that the associated millions of deaths per year could already be avoided with relatively little effort. This assessment is corroborated by recent findings from Moore and colleagues. (Fp)