Whoever stays up longer, dies later

A team from the University of Sydney led by physician Binh Nguyen-Duy has revisited this data and found something that may not sound new: Regular exercise leads to a longer life. So far, so cliché.

Studies are often snapshots in time

However, most previous studies on physical activity and life expectancy have a flaw: often, only measurements of physical activity are taken at a single point in time. In other words, participants are asked about their level of activity at moment X in their lives, maybe also about how fit and healthy they are — and then they only re-enter the statistics when they become ill or die. It often remains unclear whether they continued to exercise regularly until then or if it was just a snapshot of a period of exercise.

Persistence pays off

This was different in the Australian study. Through the long observation period and regular surveys, one main insight emerged: Consistency is key. So, sticking with it is crucial! Those who are active regularly and consistently over a long period of life benefit the most in terms of life expectancy.

Risk of death halved

In the study, those considered “physically active” are those who adhere to the World Health Organization recommendation: at least 150 moderate to intense minutes of exercise per week. Those who maintain this throughout their middle lifespan can halve their risk of premature death. The study shows a mortality rate of 10.4 percent among completely inactive individuals and only 5.3 percent among those who are consistently active. However, this “extreme” effect is achieved only if the exercise is done a) regularly and b) throughout the middle part of life.

This does not mean that it is not “worthwhile” to start exercising at a later age or achieve fewer minutes of exercise per week. Researchers were able to observe the striking effect of halving the risk of death in women in middle age only when both factors were ideally met.