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In a busy world, duty get more movement You may often be put in the background in your daily life.

But there’s a reason to rethink your priorities: the more active i am The top 25% of the U.S. population can extend your life by at least five years, according to a new study. Study published Thursday In the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Senior study author, public health professor Dr. “I was surprised to find that in the United States the years lost due to low physical activity can rival those due to smoking and high blood pressure,” said Lennert Veerman. Griffith University School of Medicine and Dentistry, Australia, via email.

Many studies have examined the links between physical activity and longevity. In fact, Veerman’s research was inspired by: 2019 research It found that the more physical activity participants did, the lower their risk of premature death. Activity levels in this study were measured with accelerometers, which are wearable activity tracking devices.

Veerman said the 2019 study, along with others, had already shown that the association between physical activity and premature death when measured with an accelerometer was about twice as strong as at levels measured by surveys or surveys.

“I wondered how this would translate into life expectancy and how much extra life expectancy a single hour’s walk could bring,” Veerman added.

To find out, the authors of the latest study used physical activity data captured by hip accelerometers worn for at least 10 hours over four or more days by adults ages 40 and older participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. 2003 – 2006.

The findings are based on this age group because activity-related mortality rates are stable until age 40; After that they change. The authors said the reason for using old activity data was to ensure methodological consistency with the 2019 study.

The team was later built a living table – a way to represent the probabilities of populations living or dying at a particular age. This life table was based on 2017 mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics, which the authors assumed was related to 2003-2006 activity levels.

Based on this information, the authors projected how many people from the 2019 U.S. population would survive in the coming years based on their activity levels and how much extra life they could gain by increasing them.

They found that being as active as the least active quarter of the population would lead to a 5.8-year loss in life expectancy for men and women, with life expectancy at birth falling from around 78 to around 73. And if all Americans are over 40. If they were as active as those in the top quartile, life expectancy would be 83.7 years, an increase of 5.3 years. Total activity levels in the lowest quartile were equivalent to walking 49 minutes at about 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) per day. Total activity levels in the second, third, and fourth highest quartiles were equivalent to 78, 105, and 160 minutes, respectively.

The team also explored what the potential benefits might be at the individual level rather than the population level; found that the least active people could extend their lives by up to 11 years if they got an extra 111 minutes of activity a day.

D., director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health in Denver. “The findings highlight what we already knew, which is that physical activity is critical to improving health outcomes (and) increasing longevity,” said Andrew Freeman. , who was not involved in the research. (Freeman is also a medical consultant for WeWard, an activity tracking app that encourages users to move by allowing them to accumulate points that can be redeemed for rewards or charitable donations. He received no financial compensation.)

Reflecting the benefits of more movement

D., assistant director of population and public health sciences at Louisiana State University’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center. Peter Katzmarzyk said the authors’ modeling method is powerful but has limitations because it relies on existing data and provides largely theoretical predictions. , via email. Katzmarzyk was not involved in the study.

The authors acknowledged that there is some evidence that adherence to physical activity guidelines has increased in the United States since the mid-2000s, meaning that estimates of life expectancy may be overestimated. Activity levels of participants in the 2003-2006 study were also measured at only one point; This cannot explain the changes that occurred throughout their lives.

But researchers have already suggested exactly how movement might be linked to longevity.

“Physical inactivity is associated with the development of several diseases, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes and various cancers,” Katzmarzyk said. “Being physically active reduces your risk of developing these conditions and dying from them.”

Seizing opportunities to move

If the idea of ​​being more active seems daunting, know that the activity levels of participants in the 2003-2006 study were not entirely due to exercise. They wore tracking devices on their hips for at least 10 waking hours over several days; This means that the devices also capture movements necessary for daily life.

To find more minutes to move throughout the day. While your meal is heating up, do some squats or take a tour of your office building instead of scrolling through social media. Park as far away from stores as possible when running errands. Drinking coffee with a friend? Instead of sitting in the cafe, go for a walk in the park. Standing desks or desk treadmills can be great to have in the workplace, Freeman said.

MORE: Exercise test: Find the best workouts for you

adults need at least 150 to 300 minutes related to moderate aerobic activity or 75 to 150 minutes of intense aerobic exercise per week, according to the World Health Organization. Veerman said every move counts, so don’t count yourself out if you’re not following the rules.

The study found a diminishing returns effect, so exercising 23 hours a day doesn’t mean you’ll live forever, Freeman said. There is such a thing as too much activity.

Additionally, “the authors’ points about improving pedestrian infrastructure…are critical,” Freeman said, adding that patients returning from European trips often tell him they walk 10,000 or 20,000 steps a day.

“We need to figure out how to do this in the United States,” he said, “because our spending on health care is completely unsustainable.”

Veerman said reducing reliance on cars requires collective action and long-term planning, but everyone can advocate for the change and some people are already in a position to help make it happen.

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