Stop Exercising: It May Speed Up Your Aging
Exercise may not hold the key to a longer life; in fact, excessive physical activity could expedite the aging process, according to Scandinavian experts and a recent yet-to-be-peer-reviewed study.
The intricate study, conducted over 45 years in Finland and recently honored with a national sports medicine prize, challenges established beliefs that regular exercise contributes to longer and healthier lives.
Researchers at the University of Jyvaskyla assert that physical exercise maybe just a minor factor in a broader context and, under specific circumstances, might pose risks to one’s health.
Between 1975 and 2020, approximately 11,000 Finnish identical twins underwent analysis for the study. Despite the self-reported daily physical activity duration and intensity, participants were categorized into four groups: sedentary, moderately active, active, and extremely active.
While those who exercised the least were initially around 20% more likely to die over 45 years, this figure dropped significantly when accounting for lifestyle factors such as education, BMI, smoking, and alcohol intake. In the adjusted analysis, the inactive group was only 7% more likely to die than the active group, with no additional benefits observed by increasing activity levels.
The study suggests a nuanced perspective, echoing the wisdom of “everything in moderation.” Individuals who engaged in too little or too much exercise exhibited increased biological aging. The most physically active individuals appeared approximately 1.8 years “older” than their fewer active counterparts.
Contrary to common belief, the researchers concluded that people who exercise do not necessarily live longer lives due to their physical activity but rather because they generally lead better lives.
While the specific time spent actively by each group was not immediately evident, the World Health Organization recommends that adults aged 18 to 64 partake in 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity or 75-150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity per week.
Dr. George Savva, a senior research scientist at the Quadram Institute in Norwich, England, commended the study’s powerful research design focusing on twins. However, he cautioned that the use of BMI filters by the researchers, influenced by physical activity, may have skewed some exercise-related effects.
