However, a 45-year study by researchers at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland has shown that excessive activity may actually accelerate aging. More than physical exercise, overall lifestyle matters.
For decades we’ve been told that regular physical activity is crucial for preventing early death. That simple message turns out to be misleading.
How the Study Was Conducted
The research team says studying the link between exercise and longevity can be misleading. The problem isn’t exercise itself.
The reality is that people who do more sports may live longer because they also follow a healthy diet, get plenty of sleep, and maintain social connections. In other words, it’s not just about time in the gym — it’s about prioritizing an overall healthy lifestyle, the Daily Mail reports.
From 1975 to 2020, researchers followed 11,000 pairs of twins who were 18 to 50 years old at the study’s start.
Participants filled out questionnaires about their physical activity, which allowed researchers to categorize them as sedentary (13.4 percent), moderately active (36.7 percent), active (38.7 percent), or highly active (11.2 percent).
The team also collected blood samples from volunteers to measure their biological age, which refers to the rate at which a person’s body ages.
To estimate biological age, researchers examined changes in DNA that are linked to factors that influence lifespan: genes, diet, and physical activity.
What the Researchers Found
The results showed that moderately active, active, and highly active participants had a 15–23 percent lower risk of dying over the 45 years compared with sedentary participants.
But after adjusting for body mass index (BMI), smoking, and alcohol use, the mortality advantage among the physically active shrank to about a seven percent reduction compared with sedentary people.
Blood analysis showed the highest biological ages were found in both the least active participants and the most active participants.
Surprisingly, the most active participants had biological ages 1.3 years older than those who were moderately active and 1.8 years older than those who were active.
So the researchers concluded that an active lifestyle is more an indicator of overall healthy living than a direct factor that extends life.
