Many types of leisure time activity may lower risk of death for older adults Digest
Older adults who engage in leisure time physical activities have lower risk of premature death.
Leisure time physical activity is a broad term that refers to physical activities performed outside work or typical household responsibilities. Examples include exercise, sports, dancing, gardening, and walking. Findings from a recent study suggest that certain leisure time physical activities are associated with a lower risk of death from all causes of premature death, including cardiovascular disease and cancer, in older adults.
Most public health organizations recommend that adults of all ages should engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical exercise or at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical exercise each week, or an equivalent combination of both. The bulk of the research focused on the benefits of physical activity has been in younger people, the findings of which might not be translatable to older adults.
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The investigators drew on data from 272,500 older adults (average age, 70 years) enrolled in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study, an ongoing study of associations between diet and cancer. Participants provided information about their demographics, height, weight, smoking status, mood, educational level, and alcohol consumption. They also answered questions about the average amount of time they spent per week during the previous year engaging in cycling, swimming laps, playing racquet sports, playing golf, walking for exercise, jogging or running, and other aerobic exercises. The investigators calculated the participants' average leisure time activity levels in terms of metabolic equivalents, or METs, a measure of the rate of energy expended per unit of time.
They found that playing racquet sports was associated with a 16 percent reduction in the risk of death from any cause and running was associated with a 15 percent reduction. The other activities conferred protection as well, but to a lesser extent. Achieving the recommended amount of physical activity through any combination of the seven leisure time activities reduced the risk of death by 13 percent. The protective effects of leisure time physical activity were dose-dependent to a degree, with greater duration conferring greater reduction in risk, but levels beyond those recommended showed diminishing returns.
These findings suggest that older adults who meet physical activity guidelines through leisure time physical activities, especially aerobic activities such as racquet sports or running, have a reduced risk of premature death from all causes. Learn about the benefits of aerobic exercise in our overview article.