A new study led by researchers at Griffith University (Australia) reveals surprising information: physical activity could be the key to a significantly longer life. According to their findings, if all individuals over 40 adopted the activity level of the most active people, they could gain on average… five additional years of life.
It is now well known that practicing regular and sustained physical activity is one of the factors that can increase life expectancy. And you don't need to practice intensely to feel the benefits. This is the conclusion that one could draw from reading an Australian study.
A study that stands out for its methodology. Namely the application of a predictive model based on physical activity levels (measured by accelerometry rather than on the subjectivity of self-administered questionnaires) and mortality risk.
11 years to gain for the most sedentary
The results are striking:
- the most active people have a 73% lower risk of mortality compared to the most sedentary;
- Just as important: for the least active, each hour of walking could translate into a gain of 6 hours in life expectancy. If all individuals moved as much as the most active 25% of the population, Americans over 40 (since the study was conducted on them, editor's note) could live 5.3 years longer on average.
“Sedentary people have the greatest potential for improvement,” explains Professor Lennert Veerman, who leads the study. Thus, according to him, “if the least active quarter of the population over 40 increased their activity level to that of the most active quarter, they could live, on average, 11 years longer. This could be any type of exercise, but that would roughly equate to three hours of walking a day.”
Tobacco, sedentary lifestyle… same fight
Thus, a more active lifestyle may provide protective effects against heart disease, stroke, certain cancers and other chronic diseases. The team even suggests that low levels of physical activity could rival the negative effects of smoking. “Other research has shown that each cigarette can take 11 minutes off a smoker’s life,” the authors explain.
“If there is anything you can do to reduce your risk of death by more than half, it is physical activity,” concludes Professor Veerman.
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