Summary: Regular weight-training exercise is associated with a reduced risk of death, a new study reports. Incorporating aerobic exercise with weight-based exercise adds to the protective effect.
Font: BMJ
Regular weight-bearing exercise is linked to a lower risk of death from any cause, with the exception of cancer, finds research conducted in older adults and published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
And making sure a weekly exercise routine includes both weights and aerobic activities appears to have an additive effect, the findings suggest.
Current physical activity guidelines for all adults recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week, or a minimum of 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, or an equal combination of the two, often referred to as MVPA. moderate to vigorous). exercise).
All adults are also encouraged to incorporate activities that work all major muscle groups. However, while aerobic exercise is consistently associated with a lower risk of death, it’s not clear whether exercising with weights might have similar effects.
In an attempt to close this knowledge gap, the researchers set out to separately and jointly assess the potential impact of weight-bearing exercise and aerobic activities on the risk of death among older adults.
They were based on participants from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial. This began in 1993 and includes 154,897 men and women ages 55 to 74 from 10 different cancer centers in the United States.
In 2006, 104,002 of the participants were further asked whether they had exercised with weights in the past year and, if so, how often they had done so, ranging from less than once a month to several times a week.
And they were asked about the frequency and duration of moderate-intensity and vigorous-intensity physical activity during the past year.
Moderate intensity was described as ‘activity in which you broke a little sweat or increased your heart and breathing rates to moderately high levels’ and vigorous activity as ‘activity strenuous enough to break a sweat or increased your heart and breathing rates to very high levels’ ‘.
Four groups of activity were generated based on total weekly MVPA minutes: (1) inactive, 0 minutes; (2) insufficient aerobic MVPA, 1-149 minutes; (3) enough, more than 150 minutes of moderate activity or an equivalent amount of vigorous activity; and (4) very active, 301 or more minutes of moderate activity or an equivalent amount of vigorous activity.
In total, responses from 99,713 people were included in the final analysis, 28,477 of whom died during an average of 9.5 years of follow-up. Their mean age at the start of the follow-up period was 71 years, and their mean weight (BMI) was 27.8 kg/mtwo which is defined as being overweight.
Nearly 1 in 4 (23%) of those surveyed reported some weight-bearing activity; 16% said they regularly exercised with weights between one and six times a week. Nearly a third (32%) were aerobically active enough, meeting (24%) or exceeding (8%) the MVPA guidelines.
Weight-bearing exercise and aerobic MVPA were independently associated with a lower risk of death from any cause, as well as from cardiovascular disease, but not from cancer.
Overall, exercising with weights in the absence of MVPA was associated with a 9-22% lower risk of death, depending on the amount: for example, using weights once or twice a week was associated with a 14% lower risk .
Similarly, among those who did not exercise with weights, aerobic MVPA was associated with a 24% to 34% lower risk of death from any cause, compared with those who reported neither MVPA nor with weights.
But the lowest risk of death was seen among those who said they did both types of physical activity.
For example, the risk of death was 41% to 47% lower among those who said they met the most recommended weekly levels of MVPA and exercised with weights once or twice a week than among those who were physically inactive .
Educational level, smoking, BMI, race and ethnicity did not significantly change the observed associations, but gender did: the associations were stronger in women.
This is an observational study and as such cannot establish cause, plus it was based on personal recollection and included data from a single point in time. Specific details about training intensity, training load, volume (sets and repetitions), and how long the participants had been exercising with weights were not available, all of which may have influenced the findings.
The study focused only on weights, but there are other types of muscle-strengthening exercises, the researchers say, citing calisthenics, which includes push-ups and squats; pilates; and plyometric exercises, including jumping jacks and burpees.
Using weights can make a body slimmer: Total lean mass is independently associated with a lower risk of death, the researchers say in explanation of their findings. And if done in a gym, it could also be very social, another factor associated with a longer and healthier life.
“Our finding that mortality risk appeared to be lower for those who participated in both types of exercise provides strong support for current recommendations to participate in aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities,” they write.
“Older adults would likely benefit from adding weight-bearing exercises to their physical activity routines,” they conclude.
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original research: Closed access.
“Independent and Conjoint Associations of Weight Lifting and Aerobic Activity with All Causes, Cardiovascular Disease, and Cancer Mortality in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trialby Charles E. Matthews et al. British Journal of Sports Medicine
Summary
Independent and Conjoint Associations of Weight Lifting and Aerobic Activity with All Causes, Cardiovascular Disease, and Cancer Mortality in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial
Objectives
Both moderate-to-vigorous aerobic physical activity (MVPA) and muscle-strengthening exercise (MSE) are recommended, but the mortality benefits of weightlifting, a specific type of MSE, are limited.
Methods
In the prostate, lung, colorectal, and ovarian cancer screening trial, we used Cox proportional hazards regression to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs for associations between weight lifting and exercise. mortality, adjusting for demographics, lifestyle, and behavioral risk factors. The sample included 99,713 adults who completed the follow-up weight-lifting questionnaire and were subsequently followed up to 2016 for mortality (median 9, IQR 7.6–10.6 years).
Results
The mean age in the follow-up questionnaire was 71.3 (IQR 66-76) years, 52.6% women, with a mean body mass index of 27.8 (SD 4.9) kg/mtwo. Weight lifting was associated with a 9% lower risk of all-cause mortality (HR = 0.91 (95% CI 0.88 to 0.94)) and CVD mortality (0.91 (95% CI 0.91). 95%: 0.86 to 0.97)) after adjusting for MVPA. Conjoint models revealed that adults who met the aerobic MVPA recommendations but did not lift weights had a 32% lower risk of all-cause mortality (HR = 0.68 (95% CI: 0.65 to 0.70)), while those who also reported lifting weights 1 or 2 times per week had a 41% lower risk (HR = 0.59 (95% CI 0.54 to 0.64)), both compared to adults who reported neither aerobic MVPA nor weight lifting. Without adjustment for MVPA, weight lifting was associated with lower cancer mortality (HR = 0.85 (95% CI 0.80 to 0.91)).
conclusion
Weight lifting and MVPA were associated with a lower risk of all-cause and CVD mortality, but not cancer mortality. Adults who met the recommended amounts of both types of exercise seemed to get additional benefit.
