The most workout-averse adults had the most to gain.
If all Americans were as active as their most workout-obsessed countrymen, the average adult could add five years to their life expectancy, a new analysis has found.
It’s well-known that people who exercise regularly are at lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, depression, dementia, and a slew of other health issues.
But the new study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, underscores the powerful role that physical activity plays in our longevity – and how significant the gaps are between the most and least active groups.
For the study, researchers divided US adults aged 40 and older into four groups based on their physical activity levels from 2003 to 2006, and then followed their health outcomes over the years.
https://www.euronews.com/health/2024/12/02/average-adult-could-live-5-extra-years-with-more-exercise-study-shows
Paul
#270
My Dad made it just 2 days shy of his 90th b’day but the last 10 years of his life were hell
After he retired at 65 he golfed once a week until 70 and then sat on the couch watching sports for the next 20 years. Lost the ability to walk by 80
So, I exercise (still mountain biking and hiking and doing Carol bike) at 72
I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit in a wheel chair shitting myself the last 10 years of my life
7 Likes
Dr.Bart
#271
Any type of exercise will build some fitness but polarized training (mainly Zone 2 with 5%-10% HIIT) does it best.
Also spending all of your time in zone 3 and 4 increases your risk for a. fib. over just doing mainly Zone 2 with with bit of HIIT.
The Association Between Atrial Fibrillation and Endurance Physical Activity: How Much is too Much? - PMC.
3 Likes
With all due respect, that’s not the question I was answering. I was saying that I think 3 and 4 is better at maintaining fitness. If you’re doing it right, you’re not trying to build any fitness at all at age 50+. That time is passed. You missed your chance. At that age, you should be focused on maintaining fitness, and you don’t need endless amounts of zone 2 to do that. I can tell you from experience 30 to 45 minutes a week of zone 3 and 4 and one zone 2 session will maintain your fitness just fine, and will be easier on your body because it’s less volume overall.
Dr.Bart
#273
I would disagree mainly for the latter reason in my post. A. fib is one thing I fear the most with exercise, going chronically over the AeT seems to increase that risk, not sure if 30-45 minutes a week significantly increases that risk as the studies were looking at endurance sports where athletes spend hours a week on average in the Zone 3 & 4.
I’m a layman, but how does this square with things like that study showing that HIIT can effectively de-age the heart by up to 20 years? I remember watching a Rhonda Patrick video on it.
Dr.Bart
#275
Exercise has a ton of benefits including maintaining proper cardiac function, probably via some effect on natriuretic peptides. HIIT is especially powerful but it should be done only under certain conditions.
However, prolonged heart overstimulation can also lead to problems/
AnUser
#276
Doesn’t look like a large difference between high and elite to me.
It was from users of a exercise stress test, based on METS achieved.
elite (≥97.7th percentile), high (75th-97.6th percentile), above average (50th-74th percentile), below average (25th-49th percentile), and low (<25th percentile).
So if you are in the ~75th percentile for achieved METS, for your age if you would do a exercise stress test, you are pretty safe
This chart is a bit deceiving since the y axis doesn’t start at 0. Arguably the difference between even below average and elite is not enough to justify going crazy on fitness if you really dislike it. IMO the chart’s strongest argument is you don’t want to be in the low category.
3 Likes
AnUser
#278
Good catch, I didn’t notice that.
It’s going to be even harder to notice then if it wasn’t truncated.
And I would agree that you don’t want to be in the low category, but at the same time, this is probably because of residual confounding because it’s an association study. They already excluded a bunch of people who would have very low performance (and increased mortality).
In the best case scenario it’s just measuring median lifespan anyway (over 10 year period), median age 52.
Only dead people can only handle zero METs.
1 Like
RapAdmin
#280
New article by Alex Hutchinson:
Repeated breath holds produce an effect “similar to blood doping”: the spleen contracts to release a reserve of fresh oxygen-carrying red blood cells.
Could this boost running endurance? Previous research has been iffy, but a new study is more optimistic.
1 Like
Bicep
#281
He didn’t mention over time whether the new red blood cells return to the spleen? Or do they stay in the system and the spleen gets new ones. Doubt it. And how long this would take.
Interesting.
I’ve been doing this for about 3 years now. I have one day a week where I do running intervals while holding my breath. The really important part is, you have to completely exhale ALL air from your lungs BEFORE you start the interval in order to get the magnitude of reduction in blood oxygen level you need. I usually only do a couple of these, I think that’s all you need.
Radiata
#283
I wonder why dunking the face in water while breath makes the spleen contract more. I guess it could be related to AVAs (arteriovenous anastomosis) in the face/forehead causing the contraction. If that’s the case, you could probably get the same response by dipping your hands in cool water since the hands have AVAs as well. It would be a lot less cumbersome to dip your hands vs. your face when doing a track workout.
The improvement in time to exhaustion was pretty paltry, only 0.75%.
Here’s the article, in case anyone can get it. I could not find a preprint:
Radiata
#284
I’ve tried breath holding during running as well. It’s very uncomfortable; I feel as if I’m about to both throw up and crap myself simultaneously. I’ve never exhaled beforehand though, so that’s worth a try.
A buddy of mine from sea level would do this prior to going to altitude for mountain climbing. He swore by it, and never had problems with altitude.
1 Like
If you try it, be careful. When the lights start to dim, go ahead and take a breath.
1 Like
Interesting. I’ve been doing a version of this for years. I jog at running track in a local park near me, four times a week. There are other joggers on the track. Because I’m - admittedly - irrationally paranoid about catching some virus from a passing jogger if I take a breath a couple dozen yards before and after passing them, I hold my breath, until I feel I’ve left the “cloud” of their breath. However, sometimes there are a few joggers spaced along the track, so I have to pass all of them, which necessitates holding my breath for a more extended length of time. Sometimes I feel like I won’t be able to hold my breath long enough to pass all joggers, so I accellerate the pace of my jogging, and it can be quite challenging to hold your breath for so long while running hard. This happens almost every time I jog, so consequently I’ve done this four times a week for years. I also jog while breathing exclusively through my nose. I thought all this might have some mild conditioning benefits, but it’s interesting to read this new perspective… I guess sometimes it pays to be irrationally paranoid🤣!
mccoy
#287
Just yesterday I listened to the episode with Dr. Tarnopolski. It was very useful in reminding that in exercise, as in many other healthy activities, the governing law is that of diminishing returns, that is, the function relating benefits and effort is strongly non-linear.
In a few words, just a little exercise, both resistance and endurance, will yield more than proportional benefits. And an optimization can be reached according to individual requirements, and usually the optimization does not require too much time and effort.
He also insists on balancing endurance activities with resistance training and vice-versa, which is a thing I always tell people and friends who are interested in my opinions on longevity. Even if I find that most people are stubborn in their opinions, or maybe are not able to overcome their ingrained mental and physical habits.
Last but not least, it is yet another testimony that too much exercise is likely to be detrimental.
