30 minutes of physical activity 6 days a week is linked to a 40% lower risk of death

Increasing physical activity levels in the elderly appears to be as good for health as quitting smoking, the Oslo II study showed.

Analysis of data from study participants showed that less than one hour each week of light physical activity was not associated with any significant reduction in the risk of death from any cause.

Getting more than an hour of physical activity, regardless of intensity, was linked to a 32% to 56% lower risk of cardiovascular death or death from any other cause.

Less than an hour of vigorous physical activity, on the other hand, was linked to a 23% to 37% reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and death from any cause.

The more time spent doing vigorous exercise, the lower the risk seemed to be, falling between 36% and 49%.

Considering that the risk of death from heart disease/stroke increases with age, it only made a slight difference in the results.

Men who regularly engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity during their leisure time lived five years longer, on average, than those who were classified as sedentary.

The researchers base their findings on people who participated in the Oslo Study, which invited nearly 26,000 men born between 1923 and 1932 for a health check in 1972-73 (Oslo I).

In total, 15,000 men participated in this long-term length study. Study participants had their height, weight, cholesterol and blood pressure checked, and were asked if they smoked.

They were also asked to respond to a validated survey about their weekly levels of leisure-time physical activity.

Physical activity levels were classified according to:

• Sedentary (watching TV/reading);

• Light (walking or bicycling, including to and from work for at least 4 hours per week);

• Moderate (formal exercise, sports activities, vigorous gardening for at least 4 hours a week);

• Vigorous (hard training or competitive sports several times a week).

Some 6,000 of the surviving men repeated the process in 2000 (Oslo II) and were followed for nearly 12 years to see if physical activity level over time was associated with a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, or from any other disease. cause, and whether its impact were equivalent to quitting smoking.

During the follow-up period, 2,154 of the 5,738 men who had participated in both health controls died.

Overall, this study showed that 30 minutes of physical activity, light or vigorous intensity, 6 days a week was associated with a 40% lower risk of death from any cause.

As an observational study, no definitive conclusions about cause and effect can be drawn, and the researchers note that only the healthiest participants in the first wave of the study participated in the second wave, which may have reduced the overall absolute risk of death.

But the differences in the risk of death between the inactive and the active were notable, even at age 73, they suggest.

The study clearly shows that more effort should be made to encourage older men to be physically active, with medical professionals emphasizing the wide range of health problems that could be avoided as a result, the researchers conclude.

Working with a certified fitness trainer for an exercise program that you can manage and work into your daily activity can add years to your life.