Adulting is hard — particularly on our bodies.
Our muscles tend to shrink as we age, while our bones become less dense and more fragile. To make matters worse, finding time for strength training often becomes more challenging as family and work demands increase.
But it’s important to make time to stave off Father Time. New research out of Australia confirms the longheld belief that exercise is key to a longer, healthier life.
Physical activity has been shown to improve cardiovascular health, strengthen muscles and bones, help manage weight and boost mood.
Adults should aim for 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and at least two days of muscle strengthening a week.
In a study out Thursday, researchers from the University of Queensland linked consistent exercise in adulthood to a 30% to 40% lower risk of death from any cause, particularly heart disease.
A premature or early death is generally defined as death before the age of 75.
“Our results emphasized the importance of [physical activity] across adulthood, indicating that initiating [it] at any point in adulthood may provide survival benefits,” the study authors said in a statement.
They reviewed 85 studies that highlighted exercise patterns across adulthood, benefits of different levels of activity and long-lasting effects of years of exercise.
Participant pools ranged from 357 to 6.5 million.
The analysis concluded:
Out-of-shape adults who started working out were 22% less likely to die early from any cause than those who stayed inactive.
Adults who were consistently active all the time or just in their leisure time were 40% less likely to die from heart disease and 25% less likely to die from cancer compared to the gym-averse.
Logging more than the maximum recommended 300 weekly minutes of exercise yielded only small additional gains in delaying death.
Going from a fitness buff to a couch potato negated the benefits of exercise.
Any exercise is better than no exercise.
The results were published Thursday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
The researchers acknowledged that most of their data came from self-reported activity, which may not have been accurate.
Still, evidence is growing that the gym rats will survive us all.
