Category: Longevity & Health

Researchers in Taiwan have found that exercising for as little as 15 minutes per day, can increase life expectancy by three years.

A total of 416 000 individuals took part in the study between 1996 and 2008. They were categorised into five bands according to their activity levels: inactive, or low, medium, high, very high activity. Compared to the inactive group, those in the low activity group (15 minutes exercise per day) showed 14% reduced mortality and a three year longer life expectancy. Every additional 15 minutes exercise per day, was associated with a further 4% reduction in mortality and a 1% reduction in cancer.

(Minimum Amount of Physical Activity for Reduced Mortality and Extended Life Expectancy: A Prospective Cohort Study. The Lancet, online pub, 16 August 2011.)

A collaborative systematic review by authors at the Universities of Exeter and Essex, suggests that exercising in nature offers greater improvements in mental and physical well being, compared to exercising indoors.

A total of 833 adults were included in the review, which looked at eleven controlled trials. Exercising in natural environments was associated with greater feelings of revitalisation, increased energy and positive engagement, along with decreases in tension, confusion, anger and depression. People also expressed greater enjoyment and satisfaction with outdoor activity, and stated a greater intent to repeat it.

(Does Participating in Physical Activity in Outdoor Natural Environments have a greater effect on Physical and Mental Wellbeing than Physical Activity Indoors? A Systematic Review. Environmental Science & Technology Journal, March 2011.)

Dutch researchers have found that drinking several cups of tea a day, can cut the risk of death from coronary heart disease by more than a third. They followed 37 500 healthy people for 13 years, and noticed that those who drank between three and six cups of tea a day, were 45% less likely to die from heart disease, than those who drank less than one cup per day. Moderate coffee consumption was also associated with a slightly reduced rate of coronary heart disease mortality.

(Tea and Coffee Consumption and Cardiovascular Morbidity and Mortality. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis & Vascular Biology, 14 July 2010.)

English and Italian researchers investigating the relationship between duration of sleep and mortality from all causes, have performed a systematic review of 16 relevant studies. The studies looked at a total of 1.4 million people, following them up for between 4 and 25 years.

It emerged that people who generally slept for less than six hours per night, were 12% more likely to die prematurely, than those who consistently managed six to eight hours. Longer sleep durations (exceeding nine hours) were associated with a 30% greater risk of death.

(Sleep Duration and All-Cause Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies. Sleep Journal May 2010.)

American researchers have concluded that older people who follow a Mediterranean diet (typically characterised by a high intake of fish, fruit, vegetables, legumes, cereals and unsaturated fat, a low intake of dairy and meat, and a moderate intake of alcohol), are less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and less likely to progress from MCI to Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Data from 1393 cognitively normal individuals, and 484 individuals with MCI, overall average age 77, was analysed for the study, and participants were followed for an average of over 4 years.

Over that period, 275 of the initially cognitively normal people, developed MCI. Compared to those people with only a low adherance to a Mediterranean diet, those with the highest adherance, had though, a 28% lower risk of doing so. Even those with a moderate adherance showed a 17% lower risk.

Over a similar period, 106 of the 484 individuals with MCI went on to develop AD. Again compared to those with only a low dietary adherance, people with the highest adherance showed a 48% lower risk of progressing from MCI to AD. Those with a moderate adherance showed a 45% lower risk.

(Mediterranean Diet and Mild Cognitive Impairment. JAMA Neurology, February 2009.)