Exercise May Not Be The Key To Living Longer — It Might Even Be Aging You Faster

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The concept of "survival of the fittest" may be up for debate.

Recent research from Scandinavian scientists suggests that exercise might not be the primary factor for a longer life.

Surprisingly, excessive physical activity could potentially hasten the aging process in our bodies, according to their ambitious study.

Although the research has not undergone peer review, it has already received a national sports medicine prize in Finland, where the study was conducted over a span of 45 years.

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People who exercise more have been shown to live longer and in better health in numerous studies.

This time, however, scientists from the University of Jyvaskyla discovered that physical exercise might only represent a small portion of the bigger picture and occasionally have detrimental effects on health.

In order to carry out the research, over 11,000 Finnish identical twins were examined from 1975 to 2020.

Based on their self-reported duration and level of physical activity, the participants were divided into four groups: very active, active, moderately active, and sedentary.

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Overall, they discovered that compared to people who were consistently active, those who exercised the least had a roughly 20% higher chance of dying over a 45-year period.

But that figure drastically decreased when they accounted for lifestyle variables like education, body mass index (BMI), smoking, and alcohol use.

Subsequently, there were "no additional benefits provided" by increased levels of activity, with the sedentary group having a 7% higher death risk than the active group.

In keeping with the saying that says, "Everything in moderation."

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The results of the study demonstrated that excessive or insufficient exercise hastened biological aging.

The most physically active individuals were "older" by almost 1.8 years compared to the less physically active individuals.

The researchers came to the conclusion that people who exercise probably live longer because they are usually healthier rather than because of their exercise.

The World Health Organization suggests that adults between the ages of 18 and 64 engage in at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity per week, though the precise duration of physical activity for each group was not immediately evident.

The Times of London was informed by Dr. George Savva, a senior research scientist at the Quadram Institute, a food and health research center in Norwich, England, that the Finnish study had a "powerful research design" because of its focus on twins.

The expert cautioned that some of the effects of exercise may have been distorted by the researchers' filtering for BMI, which is affected by physical activity.

The scientific community grapples with these findings, sparking new avenues for exploration and discussion.

These revelations prompt a deeper understanding of the intricate relationship between our daily movements and the journey toward a longer, healthier existence.