You are certainly aware of the benefits of exercising. Physical activity is believed to be able to improve overall health by boosting the immune system. Therefore, those who like to exercise usually have a better immune system than those who don't like to do it. Not only protects the body from disease attacks, exercise can also prolong your life.
According to the results of a recent study presented at the 2019 Euro Prevent, any exercise or physical activity can extend a person's life. Researchers from the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences found that increasing physical activity (or just being active every day) can reduce the overall risk of death. This benefit can be felt in all gender or age.
In their study, the researchers examined more than 315,000 Swedish adults who had health screening in 1995 - 2015. The researchers focused on maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 Max) of the participants to see how much oxygen was provided by the heart and lungs for their muscles during exercise. They found that the mortality rate and the incidence of cardiovascular disease decreased by around 2.8% and 3.2% for each increase in VO2 Max/ml.
In general, VO2 Max will increase as your physical activity increases. Therefore, being more active in everyday life and doing simple exercise activities such as walking up stairs or cycling can help to maintain your health. According to the researchers, the more your physical activity, the better the benefits.
Text by Anggie Triana
Stock photos from Pexels
Source(s):
- Bak, E.E., Ekblom, B., Soderling, J., et all (2019). Sex and age-specific associations between cardiorespiratory fitness, CVD all-cause mortality in 316,137 Swedish adults. EuroPrevent 2019.
- Medical News Today - More evidence that being active extends life (2019). https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324987.php, April 22, 2019.