In a new study, researchers found that the social aspect of exercising may be just as important as its physical benefits.
The research was conducted by a team at Arizona State University (ASU).
Curious to know which, if any, of the more socially oriented exercises, such as team sports, contribute to longevity, the team found that any exercise is beneficial, but stretching, volleyball and fitness exercises (i.e., walking, aerobics, cycling, etc.) in particular were associated with lower rates of mortality.
In their study, the team used data collected by the National Health Interview Survey of 26,727 American adults ages 18 to 84 to examine the effect of 15 different exercises on mortality rates.
The survey participants were asked once in 1998 what type of exercise they engaged in, then followed for all-cause mortality through the end of 2015.
During 17 years of follow-up, 4,955 deaths occurred. The researchers found that walking, aerobics, stretching, weight lifting, and stair climbing were related to lower risks of mortality.
When adjusting for engagement in all exercise types, stretching and volleyball were found to be uniquely associated with lower risks of mortality.
Their findings suggest that some types of exercise have unique benefits for longevity, but most are indistinguishable in relation to longevity.
It means that if you’re doing any exercise, that’s better than if you’re doing nothing. What’s best is to just keep doing what you can consistently do, what you consistently enjoy doing.
One exercise they found to have a negative effect on longevity was baseball, which they presume is due to the culture of chewing tobacco linked to the sport.
And surprisingly, in spite of its association with the neurodegenerative disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), they did not find that football was linked to increased mortality.
In addition, the team found that the benefits of exercise did not vary across different types of social groups, meaning any type of exercise is good for everyone.
The team is interested in expanding on these most recent findings to see how different types of exercise affect sleep quality.
One author of the study is Connor Sheehan, an assistant professor at ASU’s T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics.
The study is published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.
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