According to a long-term study of aging in older people, men who need to live longer can be smart to be as physically energetic as possible. Men reported in British Journal of Sports Medicine.
In 1972–73, the Oslo Study recruited roughly 15,000 Norwegian men aged 40 to 49 years. In 2000, survivor participants accomplished a survey about their every day physical activity. This included the whole lot from couch and potato time in front of the TV to vigorous athletic workouts several times per week.
As of 2012, men within the Oslo Study who reported being energetic at any level for no less than half-hour a day, six days per week, were 40 percent less prone to die from any cause. To put it in absolute terms: men who commonly engage in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity live a mean of 5 years longer than inactive men.
Although the study clearly documents that energetic older men live longer, it doesn’t explain why. The men who lived to 2012 may owe no less than a part of their longevity to aspects aside from exercise that the study didn’t take note of. Conversely, hidden unhealthy effects, akin to mental decline or reduced mobility, may explain why some men didn’t live long and didn’t exercise much. Despite these caveats, the general body of research strongly suggests that for many men, regular, moderate exercise at older ages does more good than harm.
