25 Jan Harvard T.H. Chan School Finds Varying Physical Activities Better for Longevity

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Yang Hu

Yang Hu, Research scientist
Department of Nutrition
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Previous studies have established that increasing total activity level is beneficial to prevent premature death but data on the health benefits of individual type of activity is still limited. Whether engaging in more types of activities at the same level total activity would offer additional health benefits towards longevity remains unknown.

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?

Response:  Habitual engagement of almost all commonly practiced physical activities is beneficial to prevent premature death and achieve longevity.
Higher variety of activities was associated significantly lower mortality independent of total physical activity level.

MedicalResearch.com:  Did the activity type vary by age, gender etc?

Response:   We did not specifically look at this difference but it’s very likely the case that older people would switch from very vigorous activities to moderate and light ones. 

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: It’s important to keep a high level of total physical activity, and on top of that, diversifying the types of activities may be more beneficial.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a results of this study?

Response: It would be interesting to examine the associations for other health outcomes such as diabetes and heart diseases. Also, it’s also important to see if individual activities and variety have similar health benefits among people with preexisting conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, heart diseases, and cancers.

I don’t have any conflict of interests to report.

Citation: Han H, Hu J, Lee DH, Zhang Y, Giovannucci E, Stampfer MJ, et al. Physical activity types, variety, and mortality: results from two prospective cohort studies. BMJ Medicine. 2026;5:e001513. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjmed-2025-001513

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Last Updated on January 25, 2026 by Marie Benz MD FAAD