Ready, Set, Go – Starting an Exercise Routine Now May Extend Your Lifespan

Whether you’ve done it for years or are just getting started, a new study suggests that maintaining the recommended physical activity level may extend your lifespan.

We all know that getting a good workout in regularly is beneficial to your overall health. However, a recent study from The BMJ has concluded that it’s not too late for those who haven’t yet prescribed to the recommended two to five hours of moderate-intensity exercise.

The population-based study took a look at over 14,000 middle-aged and older people’s baseline physical activity. Then, over the course of approximately 12.5 years, it compared those who maintained, increased or decreased their physical activity level with causes of mortality, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. 

The findings?

“Middle aged and older adults, including those with cardiovascular disease and cancer, stand to gain substantial longevity benefits by becoming more physically active, irrespective of past physical activity levels and established risk factors—including overall diet quality, body mass index, blood pressure, triglycerides, and cholesterol. Maintaining or increasing physical activity levels from a baseline equivalent to meeting the minimum public health recommendations has the greatest population health impact,” stated research program leader Soren Brage, Ph.D., the University of Cambridge.

At Longwood at Oakmont, our successful living retirement community, we help our residents thrive by offering a variety of wellness options to choose from. We are here to help keep your physical, intellectual, social and spiritual pillars active and growing. We offer many options for different levels of fitness and are always exploring new choices for our residents. To learn more about what Longwood at Oakmont offers, head here.

You can find the rest of The BMJ study and more details on the results here.