In This ArticleView AllIn This ArticleHow Was This Study Conducted?What Did This Study Find?How Does This Apply to Real Life?
In This ArticleView All
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In This Article
How Was This Study Conducted?
What Did This Study Find?
How Does This Apply to Real Life?
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Photo:Getty Images. EatingWell design.
Getty Images. EatingWell design.
A holistic approach to health is almost always—or dare we say always—the best approach. This includes what you eat, how much you move your body, the amount and quality of your sleep, implementing appropriate tools to manage your stressors and getting enough socialization tocombat loneliness. Appropriately treating medical conditions is part of this holistic equation, as well.
Many studies, however, take one of these aspects and take a deeper look at it to see how it alone may influence health. That’s exactly what researchers did for a study published on November 14, 2024, in theBritish Journal of Sports Medicine,when they looked at the influence of physical activity on life expectancy.Let’s see what they found.
Researchers drew their data from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES) for the years 2003 to 2006. NHANES is a large cohort study that assesses the health and nutrition of people who live in the U.S. For this current study, researchers included 3,817 men and women who were at least 40 years old during 2003 to 2006.
Participants wore an accelerometer on their hip for a minimum of 10 hours per day for at least four days. An accelerometer is basically a fancy pedometer that tracks most kinds of movement, not just number of steps. Researchers calculated the amount of physical activity for each participant based on the readings from their accelerometers.
The researchers sorted participants into four equal groups, called quartiles, based on how physically active they were. The quartiles were numbered Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4, with participants in Q1 clocking the least amount of physical activity. Each quartile went up from there, with participants in Q4 clocking the most time engaged in physical activity.
Researchers also used mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics from the year 2017. Researchers used that data to estimate life expectancies for each quartile based on the statistical relationship between physical activity levels and death rates.
In addition, data from previous well-designed studies was used to increase the accuracy of this study and to help translate results to real life. In doing so, they took the amount of physical activity recorded on the accelerometers and transposed these amounts into minutes walked per day to help people apply the results to their daily lives.
It’s important to note that in the year 2017, the average life expectancy in the U.S. was 78.6 years. This is the baseline upon which the life expectancy comparisons from this study are based. After statistical analyses were run, several findings surfaced. Regarding life expectancy, the researchers estimated that:
How much physical activity is required to gain these benefits? Researchers went deeper and found that:
Researchers even went so far as to break down how many hours can be added to life expectancy for each additional hour of walking per day. For someone in that least active quartile, researchers estimate that an hour-long walk could add six hours to their life expectancy—so just remember that even the little things can add up to big benefits.
Study Finds Physical Activity, Not Weight Loss, Is Key to Reducing Health Risks
There were a lot of numbers thrown at you with this study—so how does this all relate to real life? In short—move more if you want to live a longer life.
“This study was great to translate to the average person because it looked at the sum of movement throughout the day, rather than formal exercise,” saysSarah Pflugradt, Ph.D., RD, a performance nutritionist and owner ofSarah Pflugradt Nutrition. “I find it much less intimidating to stress the importance of movement for health, rather than feeling the need to adhere to strict guidelines—which, when not reached, can feel like failure.”
Pflugradt points out that another positive aspect of this study is that researchers computed the additional years of life that could potentially be added based on walking at a moderate, conversational speed. “For most adults, this is an achievable activity and can be done with a friend,” says Pflugradt.
Besides actually going for a walk, there are other ways to incorporate physical activity into your day to decrease your time being sedentary, says Pflugradt, who recommends the following five ideas to get you started.
The Bottom Line
Plus, there’s another benefit that may come from moving more. “What speaks to me is not only the additional life expectancy conclusions from this study,” says Pflugradt, “but the likelihood of increasedqualityof years that comes with increased movement as we age.”
After all, what good is a longer life if you’re not able to enjoy it?
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SourcesEatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.Veerman L, Tarp J, Wijaya R, et al.Physical activity and life expectancy: a life-table analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2024. doi:10.1136/ bjsports-2024-108125
Sources
EatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.Veerman L, Tarp J, Wijaya R, et al.Physical activity and life expectancy: a life-table analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2024. doi:10.1136/ bjsports-2024-108125
EatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.
Veerman L, Tarp J, Wijaya R, et al.Physical activity and life expectancy: a life-table analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2024. doi:10.1136/ bjsports-2024-108125
