20%-35% relative risk reduction to all causes of death for those who do the most physical activity.
But the rewards can be reached at all levels of activity above couch potato!
Researchers have known for some time that an active lifestyle leads to a longer and healthier life.
The study also showed that these gains held across groups based on weight. Regardless if someone is starting at a normal weight, overweight or obese, increasing exercise levels increased the life expectancy of the group.
So no matter where a person is now, just adding an evening walk to the daily routine results in a benefit in longer life.
Dr. Kravitz is not advocating going from couch potato to marathon runner though. His advice is to start small and work with your personal physician to develop a plan that works with your current health and physicality.
The largest group to see benefits in this study were those who had been doing the least who just began to move. Some gardened, some joined yoga classes, and still others just added a walk after dinner!
Each of these participants saw even more benefit to their new exercise of choice than did people who exercised far more strenuously.
More exercise was shown to increase the benefits, but the largest bump is just that part that means getting on your feet.
And too much exercise can actually backfire, causing injuries and more. So there really is a sweet spot to great health and exercise.
While getting older may not be optional, living well and having a long life is actually something you can help control.
Sources:
http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001335
http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/102/9/975.full.pdf
http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/VigorModerateEx.html
http://www.drlenkravitz.com/http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2013/01/18/moderate-exercise.aspx
http://www.livescience.com/50386-exercise-recommendations-longevity.html
