22 Jan Longevity Benefit of Physical Activity Plateaus in Women, Not in Men
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Lloyd Brandts
Lloyd Brandts PhD Candidate
Maastricht University
Maastricht, the Netherlands
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Although the number of people who reached old age has increased over the past few decades, in some developing countries it has been observed that the increase in life expectancy started to plateau.
One commonly used argument to explain this plateauing is the growing number of obese and physically inactive individuals. Therefore, we assessed whether there is an association between these factors and the chance of reaching the age of 90 years.
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?
Response: We observed that height, BMI, and BMI change since the age of 20 years were associated with reaching the age of 90 years in women, but not in men. Furthermore, physical activity was associated with an increased chance of reaching the age of 90 years in both men and women.
However, in women we saw an increasing chance of reaching 90 years up to 60 minutes of physical activity a day. Chances of reaching old age did not increase further at higher physical activity levels. In men it seems the more time they spend physically active every day, the better it is for their chances of reaching 90 years.
MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?
Response: These finding indicate that both body size and physical activity are related to lifespan, but that these associations seem to differ between men and women.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work?
Response: We are interested whether the results on body size and physical activity with longevity can be replicated in other studies or populations as well. Furthermore, there should be awareness on the importance of taking sex differences into account when studying these relationships.
MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Response: This is an observational study, and therefore we cannot establish cause. For instance, a low level of physical activity might also be an indicator of deteriorating health, which in turn might also have led to an earlier death. Furthermore, information on body size and physical activity was self-reported rather than objectively measured, which might have affected the results.
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Last Updated on January 22, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD