Exercise and Longevity Part 3
How important is physical fitness for longevity? The Copenhagen study of middle-aged men put figures to the expected years of life gained at different levels of fitness. More than 5,000 men aged around 50 had formal exercise testing. They were then followed up for 46...
Exercise and longevity Part 2
Last week I talked about the connection between exercise “volume” and length of life. A bit more on this: What sort of exercise? Aerobic exercise is more effective for prolonging life than muscle strengthening, but a combination of the two has the...
Exercise and longevity – Part 1
‘I’m not afraid to die, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.’ Woody Allen Length of life – lifespan The bottom line – how long you live. There is no answer to the question ‘What is normal life expectancy?’ but it is certain that our...
SEDENTARY BEHAVIOUR Part 1
What’s that? Sedentary behaviour is any time spent primarily sitting or lying down and which involves expenditure of 1.5 metabolic equivalents (METs) or less. Examples are sitting, watching television, playing video games, and using a computer. Too much sitting...
LONGEVITY part 2
I indicated last week that lifelong exercisers live longer than their more sedentary friends. Is it ever too late to start? The answer is a qualified no because the effect on longevity takes a while to kick in. It probably takes several years of high levels of activity to increase your lifespan.