August 17, 2009 â € ”Sedentary people only need 30 minutes of physical activity per week to halve their risk of dying prematurely, and therefore of living longer.
This is what the results of a study indicate1 conducted among 4,384 healthy 50 and 60 years old, with no history of cardiovascular disorders, which American researchers followed for 9 years.
Based on their physical activity habits and fitness, participants were divided into five categories:
1. complete sedentary;
2. sedentary moving just a little;
3. moderately active;
4. active;
5. very active.
The researchers then recorded the deaths that occurred over the nine years. As expected, the death rate was significantly higher among the more sedentary, while it was significantly lower among the more active.
What is surprising, however, is the magnitude of the protective effect of physical activity among the two least active groups.
The greatest reduction in the mortality rate is between categories 1 and 2. When an inactive person begins to exercise just a little (as little as 30 minutes a week), their risk of dying prematurely is halved. The effect persists for the other categories of more active participants, but in a less spectacular way.
For the researchers, these results mean that if you are in the least active category when it comes to physical activity, it is important that you at least make the effort to move a little in order to move on to the next category.
“You have to remember that the death rate rises quickly as soon as you stop moving,” concluded Jonathan Myers, lead author of the study.
|
Mortality rate by physical activity |
||
|
Category |
Mortality from all causes |
Mortality related to cardiovascular disorders |
|
1. Complete sedentary |
24.5% |
5.3% |
|
2. Sedentary moving just a little |
13.4% |
2.6% |
|
3. Moderately active |
12.6% |
2.2% |
|
4. Assets |
9.7% |
2.1% |
|
5. Very active |
5.6% |
0.9% |
Pierre Lefrançois â € ”PasseportSanté.net
According to The Globe and Mail
1. Mandic S, Myers JN, Oliveira RB, et al.Characterizing differences in mortality at the low end of the fitness spectrum. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009 Aug; 41 (8): 1573-9.
