The findings, published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, conclude that switching to a lifestyle with more physical activity at any point in adult life may extend lifespan, that some activity is always better than none and that it’s never too late in life to start adding more movement to your routine.
Currently, it’s recommended that adults should aim for 150-300 weekly minutes of moderate-intensity activity, 75-150 weekly minutes of vigorous-intensity activity or a combination of the two. These recommendations were based on the best evidence available, which captured measurements of physical activity at only one point in time; this limitation obscured the potential impact of changing patterns during adulthood, the researchers noted.
They scoured research databases for relevant studies that assessed physical activity at two or more points in time, and reviewed 85 studies with sample sizes ranging from 357 to 6,572,984 participants. Fifty-nine studies looked at long-term patterns of physical activity across adulthood; 16 looked at the average benefits of different activity levels; and 11 explored the potential impact of cumulative activity on risk of death.
Overall, consistently active people had a 30-40% lower risk of dying from any cause. Participants who switched from being physically inactive to being active were 22% less likely to die from any cause than those who remained inactive.
