#443: Dr. Radford reviews how changes in physical activity impact longevity

Dr. Radford reviews how changes in physical activity impact longevity
Dr. Nina Radford, Cooper Clinic director of cardiovascular medicine was interviewed by Todd Whitthorne, and gave her thoughts on the recent study published in the British Medical Journal looking at lifestyle changes in terms of physical activity for 50-year old men, in a 35-year follow-up.

Dr. Radford reports that patients often come into Cooper Clinic for the first time around age 50. The good news is, even if you start to adopt healthy lifestyles at age 50, you’ll see lots of benefits. The study supports Dr. Radford’s assertion that positive lifestyle changes positively impact overall health.

In the study reported in the British Medical Journal, 2,200 Swedish men were evaluated at age 50 (between 1970 and 1973), and then re-evaluated at ages 60, 70, 77, and 82 years. Researchers wanted to determine the impact of physical activity in inactive, moderately active and very active men, and see if increased physical activity resulted in improved health benefits.

Increased physical activity was determined by asking a couple of simple questions. Men who answered “Yes” to “Do you spend most of your time reading, watching TV, going to the movies, or engaging in mostly sedentary activities?” were labeled low-activity.

The men labeled “moderately active” answered “Yes” to the question “Do you often go walking or cycling for pleasure?”

Men who reported that they engage in any active recreational sport or heavy gardening at least 3 hours every week, or who stated they regularly engage in hard physical training or competitive sports were labeled high-activity.

Researchers followed these men over 35 years. In their conclusions, researchers stated “Increased physical activity in middle age is eventually followed by a reduction in mortality to the same level as seen among men with constantly high physical activity. This reduction is comparable with that associated with smoking cessation.”

Dr. Radford says it took about 10 years in the high-activity level for the previously low- or medium-active men to realize the increased health benefits of the men who had constantly high had physical activity. The benefits were significant though – researchers saw a reduction in cardiac risk for these guys – as much as the benefits seen when someone stops smoking.

Todd mentions that research shows over-and-over that 150 minutes of exercise per week seems to be the magic number we need to meet in order to get all the health benefits of exercise. Dr. Radford noted that the 3 hours (180 minutes) of exercise seen in the study was pretty minimal given the incredible health rewards.

Dr. Radford suggests that people following as few as 2 reality shows a week probably spend 5- to 6 hours in front of the TV for those programs. If time is tight, her recommendation is that spending time on the treadmill or exercise bike while watching a TV program is an easy way to “find” the time needed to exercise.

Jill Turner is VP of Operations for Cooper Concepts, the company that markets Cooper Complete nutritional supplements. Jill regularly contributes information to the Cooper blog. Email jsturner@cooperwellness.com or call 972-560-3262 with your questions and comments.

Reference Information
Total mortality after changes in leisure time physical activity in 50 year old men: 35 year follow-up of population based cohort
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/338/mar05_2/b688