Researchers found that of the “least-fit” versus the “slightly more fit” of the nearly 4,400 healthy Americans in their recent study, roughly 20 percent with the lowest physical fitness levels doubled the risk of dying over the next nine years as the 20 percent with the next-lowest fitness levels. (To put it another way, those 20 percent who were almost at the lowest fitness levels.) This is the time-honored “bad news/good news” outcome. It is undoubtedly bad news if you are a dyed-in-the-wool couch potato. However, it is definitely good news for those who haven’t entirely embraced a sedentary lifestyle but are not, by any means, very active. Apparently, those men and women who stay only moderately fit as they age may have a longer lifespan than those who are completely out-of-shape, the study suggests.

Between 1986 and 2006, researchers determined the fitness levels of 4,384 middle-aged and older adults during exercise treatmill tests. The researchers then followed their progress for an average of nine years. The study took into consideration factors like obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. This, in and of itself, highlights the significants of being physically fit. In an email to Reuters Health, lead researcher, Dr. Sandra Mandic of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, noted: “Our findings suggest that a sedentary lifestyle, rather than differences in cardiovascular risk factors or age, may explain the two-fold higher mortality rates in the least-fit versus slightly more fit individuals.”

Nearly two-thirds of the least-fit study participants failed to get at least 30 minutes of moderate activity, five or more days a week, which was the minimum recommended amount of exercise. “These results emphasize the importance of improving and maintaining high fitness levels by engaging in regular physical activity,” Mandic said, “particularly in poorly-fit individuals.”

Separating the participants into five groups based on fitness levels, the researchers found that 25 percent of the least-fit men and women had died during the study period, as opposed to 13 percent of those who were slightly more in shape. Only 6 percent of the most-fit group (i.e., the ones who “hit the bull’s eye”, so to speak) had died during the follow-up period.

The five fitness-level groups presented little difference, overall, in their reported exercise practices during most of their adult lives, but conspicuously, they contrasted in activity levels only in recent years. “Since it is recent physical activity that offers protection,” Mandic said, “it is important to maintain regular physical activity throughout life.”

In this particular study, regardless of weight and other health problems such as those mentioned above, fitness is undeniably linked to longevity. Therefore, exercise is vital to the extension of our lifespan. And, perhaps it goes without saying, imagine the health benefits we could all derive if we worked towards the higher levels of fitness.

SOURCE: Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, August 2009.

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Any movement is a step towards better health and physical fitness. Walk a lap (or two) around your house or apartment. Put that TV remote away and get up to change the channels. As your body becomes accustomed to moving again, you will probably discover that you actually want to move more. Then you can slowly add additional movement to your daily routine. Increase the walk around your house to a walk around the block, a walk in the park, or even a walk through the shopping mall. Walking with a friend can often help to keep you on track(especially on those days when you’d rather sit and veg, then get your body moving). If you are physically able, take the stairs instead of using the elevator as often as you can. Park farther away from the entrance to the supermarket and make it a goal to put more and more parking spots between you and the entrance.

After a few weeks of regular physical activity, you will begin to feel the healthful benefits of movement. Then you’ll be ready for new ways to build flexibility, fitness, and muscle strength. Your chiropractor can advise you on how to become more physically active and help you to development an individualized program.

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