(NYTIMES) – Regular physical activity has many known health benefits, one of which is that it might help you live longer. But what is still being determined are the types and duration of exercise that offer the most protection.
In a new study published in the British Journal Of Sports Medicine, researchers found that while either doing aerobic exercise or strength training was associated with a lower risk of dying over the study time period, doing both regularly: from one to three hours of aerobic exercise and one or two strength training sessions per week was associated with an even lower mortality risk.
Switching from a sedentary lifestyle to an exercise program is comparable to “smoking versus not smoking,” said data scientist Carver Coleman, one of the study’s authors.
The paper is the latest evidence of a trend showing the importance of strength training on longevity and overall health.
“The study is exciting because it supports having a combination of aerobic and strength training,” said Dr. Kenneth Koncilja, a gerontologist at the Cleveland Clinic, who was not involved in the study. “That’s definitely something I talk about with my patients all the time.”
Strength training with cardio plus offers the most protection
For the study, the researchers used data from the National Health Interview Survey, which followed 416,420 American adults recruited between 1997 and 2014. The participants completed questionnaires detailing the types of physical activity they had been doing, including specifying how much moderate or vigorous exercise along with how many sessions of muscle-strengthening exercises they did in a week.
After adjusting for factors such as age, gender, income, education, marital status, and whether they had chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, or cancer, the researchers found that people who got an hour of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic activity a week had a 15 percent lower risk of mortality. Mortality risk was 27 percent lower for those who worked three hours a week.
But those who also participated in one or two strength-training sessions a week had an even lower mortality risk, 40 percent lower than those who did no exercise at all. This was about the difference between a non-smoker and someone with a half-pack-a-day habit.
Regular strength training is important for healthy aging
Although more research is needed, experts generally agree that regular strength training can have important benefits for healthy aging, including maintaining a high quality of life.
“You’ll function at a much higher level for longer if you have good muscle strength,” said Dr. Bruce Moseley, an orthopedic surgeon at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
Muscular strength is necessary for a number of daily activities, such as getting up from a chair, opening a jar of pickles, carrying groceries home, or working in the garden. However, “we progressively lose muscle mass as we age,” said Ms. Monica Ciolino, a physical therapist at Washington University in St. Louis.
This loss of muscle mass usually begins in your 30s and progresses with age. However, “we can absolutely defend against negative effects” with regular strength training, she added. And it’s never too late to start. Research shows that even septuagenarians with mobility problems can benefit from a regular strength training program.
