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Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness. To achieve happiness, it is imperative to gain mastery of your body. If at the age of 30, you are stiff and out of shape, you are old. If at 60 you are supple and strong then you are young– Joseph Pilates Joseph Hubertus Pilates (9 December 1883 – 9 October 1967) was a German physical trainer, writer, and inventor. He is credited with inventing and promoting the Pilates method of physical fitness. He patented a total of 26 apparatuses in his lifetime.
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Listeners familiar with my blog and podcast will know I have been exercising most of my life. For more information read: GET MOVING- A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO FITNESS, and MASTERING AN EXERCISE PROGRAM. I participated in high school athletics, played intramural sports in college and dental school, and continue to exercise weekly.
My initial exercise program was erratic and random. I had no set exercise program and exercised when I had available time. Over time I developed an exercise program and schedule that allowed me to work out more regularly and efficiently. Working out improved my physical and mental state, but I never considered whether exercising would increase my lifespan.
My mother lived to be almost 101 years old. My father died at age 70 from complications of heart problems. Based on the lifespans of my parents, my lifetime should end somewhere between age 70 and 100. At age 72, I have already passed the starting gate! My most recent physical examination with my cardiologist revealed no cardiac concerns, so I’m out of the starting gate and heading to the first turn!
Is my current health the product of my long-term exercise program or results from a lucky genetic mixture of parental genes?
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Does Exercise Increase Lifespan?
A recent American Medical Association study stated that it is a well-known fact that consistent exercise is beneficial.
An article in the journal Circulation shared findings about how much physical activity is needed to reduce mortality: While the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines recommend that adults engage in at least 150 to 300 minutes per week of moderate exercise, 75 to 150 minutes each week of vigorous movement or an equivalent combination of both intensities, it turns out that if adults do more than the recommended amount, it can lower their risk of death. Moderate physical activity is defined as walking, weightlifting, and lower-intensity exercise. Meanwhile, vigorous exercise is categorized as running, bicycling, and swimming.
From two large prospective U.S. cohorts, 116,221 adults self-reported leisure-time physical activity—defined as exercise that is not done at work—through a validated questionnaire. The questionnaire was repeated up to 15 times over the course of 30 years. The study found that working out two to four times beyond the minimum vigorous physical activity recommendations led to a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease. Those who worked out two to four times above the moderate physical activity recommendations—about 300 to 599 minutes each week—saw the most benefit.
Participants who performed two to four times above the recommended amount of moderate physical activity had a 26% to 31% lower all-cause mortality and a 28% to 38% lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality. On top of that, there was an observed 25% to 27% lower risk of non-cardiovascular disease mortality.
Additionally, adults who worked out two to four times more than the recommended amount of vigorous physical activity —about 150 to 299 minutes per week—were found to have a 21% to 23% lower risk of all-cause mortality, according to the study. They were also reported to have a 27% to 33% lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality and a 19% lower risk of non-cardiovascular disease mortality.
People who exercise 2 to 4 times above the recommended amount of moderate exercise had a 26% to 31% lower all-cause death rate and a 28% to 38% lower risk of death from heart disease.
This study indicated that any level of exercise can reduce cardiovascular disease mortality to some degree. People who exercise at a degree higher than these levels did not receive significant additional benefits.
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Contradictory Studies
One of the problems with developing any consistent exercise program is the amount of contradictory information available. The above-noted study recommended between 75 and 300 minutes of exercise each week. A 2022 study published in the journal Nature Medicine indicated that people ages 40 to 69 who engaged in spurts of exercise for one or two minutes three times a day had a significant reduction in deaths from heart disease or cancer. Another study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine indicated that 11 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise daily significantly reduces mortality and increases lifespan. A 2011 study published in the Lancet followed 416,000 people and showed the greatest longevity benefits were associated with 700 minutes per week of moderate exercise. A 2015 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine. Followed 661,000 people and found that 450 to 750 minutes a week is the optimal amount. A 2021 study in Mayo Clinic proceedings found that people who exercise between 156 to 270 minutes per week had the greatest life expectancy improvement. A JAMA investigation published in September 2021 in a study of 2110 adults over 10 years found that participants taking 7000 steps a day had an approximately 50% to 70% lower mortality. Taking more than 10,000 steps per day was not associated with further reduction in mortality risk.
Exercise and Age
Journal of Circulation: While younger people tend to choose vigorous activities more often, older adults choose moderate levels of exercise. Yet there was no evidence to show that one was better than the other in older people compared with younger folks.
Instead, “long-term vigorous physical activity in generally healthy older adults can be an effective means of improving health,” says the study.
The study does go on to say: “It is well documented that light to moderate regular physical activity prevents” cardiovascular disease. “But previous studies also showed evidence that long-term high-intensity endurance exercise (e.g., marathons, triathlons, long-distance bicycle races) may cause adverse events such as myocardial fibrosis, coronary artery calcification, and atrial fibrillation as well as sudden cardiac death.”
Yet this study suggests there is no harmful effect of high, long-term vigorous physical activity on cardiovascular health. But more studies are needed.
According to an article by Kara Robinson on WebMD:
Get aerobic exercise: Most older adults need about 2½ hours of aerobic exercise, like brisk walking, every week. That’s about 30 minutes on most days. Endurance exercises like walking, dancing, and playing tennis help your breathing, heart rate, and energy.
Stay flexible: Try stretching and yoga. They keep you limber and make it easier to move.
Work on your balance: Things like standing on one foot, walking heel-to-toe, or practicing tai chi or yoga can keep you steady and help prevent falls.
Try strength training: It prevents you from losing muscle mass and strengthens your bones. Aim for 2 days a week. Good choices are lifting weights, using resistance bands, and doing bodyweight exercises like pushups and situps. A personal trainer can teach you good form to avoid injury.
Look out for your joints: Choose things that are gentle on your joints, which weaken as you age. Walking, swimming, and biking are good choices to keep your hips and knees working well.
Make adjustments: Even if you can’t move as well as you used to, you can still work out. Swimming is a good option. Water exercise makes it easier for your body to support your weight. It also increases how far you can move your joints (the doctor will call this range of motion).
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Exercise and Diet
A study published in the Journal of Nutrition, Health, and Aging evaluated the effects of diet and exercise on biological age.
The one-year, randomized study of 100 obese individuals found that diet and diet-exercise combination can improve biological age in older adults with obesity. The diet-exercise combination was the only intervention that significantly improved healthy aging index scores, reflecting the necessity of both diet and exercise in improving functional status. Our study paves the way for future studies examining neuroprotective therapies in older adults by demonstrating the ability of aging indices to reflect these interventions.
The same article mentioned above by Kara Robinson in WebMD also spoke about diet:
A healthy diet with the right nutrients helps your bones and muscles stay strong while staving off health problems. A few tweaks to your diet can deliver what you need.
Bump up your calcium: Calcium helps your bones stay strong to ward off osteoporosis and bone fractures.
Aim for three servings of calcium-rich foods and drinks every day. Try dark green leafy vegetables, canned fish, fortified cereal, milk, and fortified fruit juices or plant beverages.
If you have trouble getting enough calcium in your diet, try a supplement. Be sure it has vitamin D, which helps your body absorb calcium.
Get more fiber: Fiber helps you stay regular and wards off constipation. It also lowers your odds of getting heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and colon cancer, and it lowers your blood cholesterol level.
Eat more fruits and vegetables, whole-grain breads and cereals, and beans and peas. Men need about 30 grams of fiber a day. Women need about 21 grams.
Boost your protein: Protein helps preserve muscle tissue. Women need about 46 grams a day. Men need about 56 grams. Good sources are low-fat milk, meat, fish, poultry, cooked dried beans, and yogurt.
Cut the salt: Too much salt can lead to high blood pressure and heart disease. Eat fresh, low-salt foods. Don’t add salt when you cook. Instead, use herbs and spices for flavor.
Many restaurants use a lot of salt, so cut back on how often you eat out. Prepackaged foods often have added salt, so it’s best to limit how much you eat.
Choose healthy fats: For a healthy heart, avoid saturated and trans fats. Instead, opt for polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. Try nuts, seeds, fish, olive oil, and avocados.
Get more potassium: Bumping up your potassium while lowering your salt may lower your risk of high blood pressure. Good sources of potassium are fruits, vegetables, and beans.
Consider the Mediterranean diet: Try the Mediterranean diet, which is rich in fruit, vegetables, fish, whole grains, good fats, and low-fat dairy products. Studies suggest it lowers your risk of heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, and dementia. It may also stave off frailty.
Don’t forget beverages: You may feel less thirsty as you age, so you may need to pay more attention to drinking enough liquids every day.
Drink water to stay hydrated and boost your energy. Try fat-free milk and 100% juice. Avoid drinks with added sugar or salt.
Cut back on alcohol: As you get older, your body can’t process it as well. It can dehydrate you, prevent your medications from working the way they should, and lead to other health problems like:
- Congestive heart failure
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Liver problems
- Memory problems
- Mood disorders
- Osteoporosis
- Sexually transmitted diseases
Be creative: If problems with your teeth or gums make it hard to chew fruits, vegetables, or meats, try softer foods with similar nutrients. For example, try low-sodium soups, canned tuna, or unsweetened canned fruits.
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Exercise and Sexual Function
A systematic review of literature related to exercise and sexual function in older adults found: The systematic review brings attention to the potential advantages of PA in augmenting sexual function. Consistent aerobic exercise stands out as a promising and effective non-pharmacological therapy for enhancing erectile function in men. However, when considering the effects of PA programs on the sexual function and quality of the sexual life of females, the results present challenges in drawing clear conclusions.
While the evidence is more robust for males, the limited data on females underscore the need for additional research. Further investigations should explore the optimal types, durations, and intensities of PA for promoting sexual health in females.
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What About Genetics
A study published in Scientific Reports involving 70 pairs of identical twins over seven years found that regular exercise can alter how your body reads a DNA sequence and even turn off certain genes to help lower your risk for chronic conditions like diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease — even if it runs in the family.
Those in the twin pairs who were more active had lower signs of chronic diseases, such as excess body fat around the waist, elevated blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol. This means the more active twin showed a lower risk for conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.
And so, when you exercise, you’re essentially changing the way certain genes are expressed. This can lead to changes in where your body stores fat, or how your body regulates blood pressure.
Epigenetic changes caused by exercise is like throwing a stone into a pond — the ripples can extend far beyond your exercise session. And that’s one of the most fascinating parts of exercise and its epigenetic influence; the potential for long-lasting effects. Regular exercise can lead to long-term epigenetic changes where the benefits of your workouts stick around much longer than your post-exercise high.
Studies suggest that consistent physical activity can lead to enduring epigenetic modifications, offering long-term health benefits. These changes can influence how your body responds to diseases. This could explain why regular exercise is often linked with reduced risks of chronic diseases and improved overall health.
However, the epigenetic changes of exercise go beyond just physical health. It also plays a significant role in mental health and cognitive function. Regular physical activity has been shown to impact epigenetic markers in the brain, which can influence mood, stress response, and even the risk of developing neurological disorders, like anxiety , depression, and even age-related dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease.
But more than that, another fascinating area of exercise and epigenetic is its impact on aging. Regular physical activity can influence epigenetic markers associated with aging, potentially slowing down the process and promoting a longer, healthier lifespan.
Lastly, emerging research suggests that epigenetic changes induced by exercise could potentially be passed down to future generations. This means that the benefits of your exercise habits might not just be limited to you but could also positively influence the health of your kids and your kids’ kids.
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Exercise as a Social Activity
A study conducted by the University of Minnesota found that physically active adults spend more time with other people and have more friends. Physically active adults also experienced better mental health.
It’s been proposed that there is a three-tiered connection between the three factors of Mental health, Physical activity, and Socialization.
Socialization helps to reduce deadly stress and helps avoid isolation.
Loneliness and isolation have been associated with decreased longevity.
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Exercising to Increase Wellness
According to the CDC:
Key Points:
- Physical activity has many immediate and long-term benefits.
- Physical activity helps you immediately feel better, function better, and sleep better.
- Adults who sit less and do any amount of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity gain some health benefits.
Immediate benefits age(chart):
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Brain health– Some benefits of physical activity for brain health happen right after a session of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Benefits include improved thinking or cognition for children 6 to 13 and reduced short-term feelings of anxiety for adults. Regular physical activity can help keep your thinking, learning, and judgment skills sharp as you age. It can also reduce your risk of depression and anxiety and help you sleep better. Some brain benefits of physical activity happen immediately.
Manage weight– Both eating patterns and physical activity routines play critical roles in weight management. You can gain weight when you consume more calories than the amount of calories you burn.
To maintain your weight
If you are not physically active, work up to 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity physical activity. This could be dancing or doing yard work. You could meet the goal of 150 minutes a week with 30 minutes a day for 5 days a week, 22 minutes daily, or what works for you.
People vary greatly in how much physical activity they need for weight management. You may need to be more active than others to reach or maintain a healthy weight. You will need a high amount of physical activity unless you also adjust your eating patterns and reduce the amount of calories you’re eating and drinking. Healthy eating combined with regular physical activity helps you get to—and stay at—a healthy weight.
Cardiovascular disease– Heart disease and stroke are two leading causes of death in the United States. Getting at least 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity can put you at a lower risk for these diseases. You can reduce your risk even further with more physical activity. Regular physical activity can also lower blood pressure and improve your cholesterol levels.
Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome
Regular physical activity can reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is some combination of too much fat around the waist, high blood pressure, low high-density lipoproteins (HDL) cholesterol, high triglycerides, or high blood sugar. With a regular schedule of moderate-intensity physical activity, people start to benefit from even less than 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity physical activity. Additional amounts of physical activity could lower risk even more.
Infectious diseases– Physical activity may help reduce the risk of serious outcomes from infectious diseases, including COVID-19, the flu, and pneumonia. For example:
- People who do little or no physical activity are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19 than those who are physically active. In a CDC review, physical activity was associated with a decrease in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths, while inactivity increases that risk.
- More active people may be less likely to die from flu or pneumonia. In one study, adults who met the aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity guidelines were about half as likely to die from flu and pneumonia than adults who met neither guideline.
- Some Cancers- Being physically active lowers your risk of developing several common cancers. If you are a cancer survivor, getting regular physical activity helps give you a better quality of life and improves your physical fitness.
Strengthen your bones and muscles– As you age, it’s important to protect your bones, joints, and muscles. This can help ensure you’re able to do daily activities and be physically active. Lifting weights is an example of a muscle-strengthening activity. Muscle strengthening is important for older adults who experience reduced muscle mass and muscle strength with aging. Slowly increasing the amount of weight and number of repetitions as part of muscle-strengthening activities will give you even more benefits, no matter your age. Muscle-strengthening activities can help you increase or maintain muscle mass and strength.
Perform daily activities and prevent falls– Everyday activities include climbing stairs, grocery shopping, or cleaning the house. Being unable to perform everyday activities is called functional limitation. Physically active middle-aged or older adults have a lower risk of functional limitations than inactive people.
For older adults, doing a variety of physical activities improves physical function and decreases the risk of falls or injury from a fall. Older adults need to include aerobic, muscle strengthening, and balance activities in their physical activity routines. This multi-component physical activity can be done at home or in a community setting as part of a structured program.
Hip fracture is a serious health condition that can result from a fall. Breaking a hip can have life-changing negative effects, especially if you’re an older adult. Physically active people have a lower risk of hip fracture than inactive people.
Afraid of getting hurt?- The good news is that moderate physical activity, such as brisk walking, is generally safe for most people.
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Increase your Chances of Living Longer.
An estimated 110,000 deaths per year could be prevented if U.S. adults ages 40 and older increased their moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Even 10 minutes more a day would make a difference.
Taking more steps a day also helps lower the risk of premature death from all causes. In one study for adults younger than 60, the risk of premature death leveled off at about 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day. For adults 60 and older, the risk of premature death leveled off at about 6,000 to 8,000 steps per day.
Regular physical activity can help manage existing chronic conditions–
Regular physical activity can help people manage existing chronic conditions and disabilities. For example, regular physical activity can:
- Reduce pain and improve function, mood, and quality of life for adults with arthritis .
- Help control blood sugar levels and lower the risk of heart disease and nerve damage for people with type 2 diabetes.
- Help support daily living activities and independence for people with disabilities.
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Final Thoughts
When I started this blog, I thought it would be a short piece about exercise and longevity versus improving quality of life. The blog continued to grow and expand, including numerous cited articles. With a family history of heart disease, I always exercised to attempt to modify the effects of genetics.
Without any empirical evidence, I felt exercise could increase my longevity. Recent research seems to confirm that assumption.
As I exercised over the years, I also made a second realization. While treating a local physician many years ago, he stated that all my exercise would probably not extend my life. I responded that even if my lifespan wasn’t extended, my quality of life was improved. I realized that exercising allowed me to perform many tasks people my age could not complete.
In the final analysis, I would much rather have life in my years, than years in my life. I would not look forward to aging with a poor quality of life, and merely marking days on a calendar. I exercise because it makes me feel better. If I live longer, then so be it.
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