Leisure activities may improve longevity for older adults

May 2024 – Physical activity is vital for your health. Exercise helps you maintain a healthy weight and prevent chronic diseases ranging from heart disease to diabetes. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults get a minimum of 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity each week, or at least half that amount of vigorous-intensity activity.

To understand whether older adults benefit from various types of exercises, NIH researchers led by Dr. Eleanor Watts analyzed data from more than 272,000 participants in a national health survey. The participants were first surveyed in the mid-1990s. When they responded to a follow-up questionnaire between 2004 and 2005, they had an average age of 70.

Among older adults who exercised regularly, walking was the most common activity. That was followed by other aerobic exercise, cycling, golf, swimming, running, and racquet sports. Older adults who participated in any combination of these activities but did not meet the recommendations in the physical activity guidelines had a 5% lower risk of death during the study then those who were inactive.

Those considered active — with at least the amount of aerobic activity recommended by the guidelines — had a 13% lower risk of death compared with inactive participants. Participation in racquet sports and running was associated with the greatest risk reductions, but all activities provided benefit.

The risk of death continued to decrease with additional activity beyond the recommended levels. But these returns diminished as activity increased to high and very high levels.

“We found that all types of recreational activities that get people moving are associated with greater longevity,” Watts says. “So, the most important thing an inactive older adult can do to improve their health is find an activity that they enjoy and can stick with.”

Source: National Institute of Health. Full article can be viewed here: https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/leisure-activities-may-improve-longevity-older-adults