Exercise and longevity: How can exercise increase your lifespan and increase the quality of your life?
We know from a mountain of literature that it is irrefutable that exercise can decrease the risk of multiple chronic diseases and mortality risk factors including hypertension, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke and cancer, just to name a few (1). In fact for the physically active, they have a 30 to 35% decreased risk of all-cause mortality compared to the physically inactive (1).
Such regular physical activity and exercise can also aid in reducing pain as well as preventing or decreasing the onset of osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. Additionally, exercise can increase your lifespan. We know that if you were to follow an exercise program of 150-300 minutes per week of moderate-intense activity, or 75-150 minutes of vigorous activity, you would reduce your risk of early death by up to 21% (2).
People who exercise for 300-600 minutes per week of moderate to intense activity further reduce their risk of death by up to 26-31% (2). In fact, the fitter you are, the longer you will live. Researchers have found an association between your level of cardiorespiratory fitness and survival rates: the fitter you are, the higher the survival rate.
“Cardiorespiratory fitness is inversely associated with long-term mortality with no observed upper limit of benefit. Extremely high aerobic fitness was associated with the greatest survival and was associated with benefit in older patients and those with hypertension. Cardiorespiratory fitness is a modifiable indicator of long-term mortality, and health care professionals should encourage patients to achieve and maintain high levels of fitness.” (3). This may all be true for cardiorespiratory fitness, but where does strength training fit into this? 30-60 minutes of strength training per week may be enough to reduce your risk of all cause mortality by 10-20%, including cancer and heart disease, compared to those who don’t do any strength training (4). Strength training can lead to better physical functioning, which can improve your quality of life (5,6,7).
There is now doubt, the fitter you are, the longer you will live and the stronger you are, the better your quality of life. Check out this great conversation between Dr Andrew Huberman and Dr Peter Attia on the benefits of exercise for overall health and longevity.
You may be wondering where to start? Current Australian guidelines are helpful when determining how much you should be doing (8). But as we know, these are the minimum requirements, and not many people, possibly 1 in 5 will meet those guidelines. For an adult 18-64 years of age you should be active on most (preferably all) days, to weekly total of: 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate activity or 1.25 to 2.5 hours of vigorous activity or an equivalent combination of both. And, for strength training it should be completed at least twice per week.
Need help? Evolution Physiotherapy and Performance specialises in exercise prescription, strength training and exercise. We can create a program that is best suited for your needs and goals. We recommend you book an initial assessment to create a specific program for you. We also have guided strength training programs in the clinic so you can participate in a safe and well guided strength regime.
Some helpful tips to begin with:
Start small – don’t overwhelm yourself with massive goals that aren’t achievable in the near future.
Make it convenient – it doesn’t have to take long, short and fast, even 10 minutes can get you started.
Seek help! Get advice from a professional who can give you the best advice.
Make an appointment and stick to it – create an accountability for yourself.
Just get started! Don’t procrastinate, get off the couch, get in touch with your friends, seek help, just do it!
