If you are over 40 years old, increase the amount of exercise… Living ‘longer like this’?

A study showed that middle-aged men and women over the age of 40, whose daily exercise amount is at an average level, can live an average of 5 to 11 years longer if they increase the amount of exercise they do. The Australian Griffith University School of Medicine research team created the US population life table (2019) based on 2017 mortality data from the US National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and analyzed physical activity data for people over 40 years of age.

According to research results, people over 40 years of age with an average amount of daily exercise can live 5 years longer if they increase their physical activity, including exercise, to the level of the top 25% of their age group. In particular, it was analyzed that ‘Couch Potatoes’, who have bad lifestyle habits such as watching TV without moving their bodies, can live 11 years longer. The research team said that the top 25% of the same age group walks at a normal speed (about 4.8 km per hour) for about 2 hours and 40 minutes a day.

“The health benefits of physical activity, such as exercise, are much greater than we thought,” said Professor Rennert Biermann (public health science), the study’s lead author. The research team analyzed daily physical activity information collected from ‘activity trackers’ worn by participants aged 40 or older in the US Federal Health Survey (2003-2006), and American death data from 2017 and 2019 recorded in the US Federal Data Bank. . The research team predicted that if people over 40 walked 2 hours and 40 minutes at a normal pace, their life expectancy would increase by about 5 years.

According to the research team, to raise physical activity, such as exercise, from the bottom 25% to the top 25%, you need to walk an additional 111 minutes at a normal pace every day. In that case, it was analyzed that their life expectancy would increase by about 11 years. Additionally, it was estimated that for every additional hour of walking each day, life expectancy would increase by 6 hours. Professor Biermann said, “This study does not prove a causal relationship. “This shows that physical activity is associated with an increase in life expectancy.” He emphasized that in order to encourage ‘Bangan Tungsu’ to be physically active, social measures such as creating walkable neighborhoods and encouraging green spaces are necessary.

The results of this study (Physical activity and life expectancy: a life-table analysis) were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine and introduced by the American health media ‘Health Day’.