Originally published December 12 2005
Researcher finds evidence that exercise increases a person's lifespan
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The Archives of Internal Medicine has published a study by Oscar H. Franco of the Erasmus M.C. University Medical Center in Rotterdam, which found that a daily workout could add four years to a person's lifespan.
Sorry, couch potatoes -- the verdict is in: People who exercise regularly really do live longer.
In fact, people who get a good workout almost daily can add nearly four years to their life spans, according to the first study to quantify the impact of physical activity this way.
Fitness instructor Barry Jay, center, works with Dusty Gibson during a workout session at Barry's Bootcamp in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2005.
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The researchers looked at records of more than 5,000 middle-aged and elderly Americans and found that those who had moderate to high levels of activity lived 1.3 to 3.7 years longer than those who got little exercise, largely because they put off developing heart disease -- the nation's leading killer.
"This should encourage people to be more active -- to take a more active role in their own health and not just sit and wait for a pill to prevent this or that or save your life," Franco said.
Franco and his colleagues analyzed data from the Framingham Heart Study, a well-known research project that has followed 5,209 residents of a Massachusetts town for more than 40 years, collecting detailed information about their lifestyles and health.
Those who took on more intense exercise -- the equivalent of running half an hour a day five days every week -- extended their lives by about 3.5 to 3.7 years, the researchers found.
"This shows it's never too late to start following a healthy lifestyle.
Other experts said the study was consistent with the growing evidence that exercising on a regular basis is one of the most important things people can do for their health.
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