Want to lower your risk of early death? 3 activities are most beneficial, study says
Want to live a longer, healthier life? Pick an activity you
enjoy, and get moving. Choose just about anything – running, swimming laps,
playing tennis, cycling, golf, racket sports or even walking for exercise.
All
of these leisure activities appear to lower the risk of early death, as well as
death from cardiovascular disease and cancer, according to a new study published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
The study
from the National Cancer Institute analyzed
responses from over 272,000 people between the ages of 59 and 82 who completed
questionnaires about their leisure time activities as part of the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study, a
longitudinal study of the relationship between diet and health.
The study
researchers followed participants for a dozen or so years and analyzed health
records for deaths from cancer, heart disease and any cause.
Physical activity guidelines in the United States recommend
that American adults do 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate-intensity aerobic physical
activity or 1.25 to 2.5 hours of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity
each week.
Any
combination of aerobic-based activity done for the recommended amount of time
per week was associated with a 13% lower risk of death from any cause when
compared with doing none of the activities, the researchers found.
Playing
racket sports had the highest return for cardiovascular issues: There was a 27%
reduction in risk for death from heart disease and a 16% reduction in early death.
The largest reduction in cancer risk (19%) was associated with running, while
running reduced risk of an early death by 15%, the study said.
Walking for exercise was the most beneficial for lowering
the risk of early death after racket sports and running, the study found.
All the
activities studied were associated with some lower risks of death, the study
found.
“Participation
in any of the activities was associated with lower mortality in comparison with
those who did not participate in each activity, including moderate-intensity
activities,” wrote study author Eleanor Watts, a postdoctoral fellow in
epidemiology at the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes
of Health.
The study
could only show an association, not a full cause and effect.
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