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Medical Forum / General / Nutrition / January 2007does exercise add more lifespan than the time it takes?
Are there any studies on how many years get added to your life on average as a result of regular exercise? I exercise on an elliptical for about half an hour every day, and I'm trying to figure out whether the increased lifespan actually makes up for the time that exercise takes up! (It certainly never caused any weight loss -- nothing worked for that until I joined Weight Watchers.) If you work out for half an hour every day, factor in another 15 minutes for things like travel to/from, showering afterwards, etc., and you're spending about 5% of your waking hours on exercise. Unless the exercise extends your lifespan by significantly more than 5%, it's not obvious to me why spending 5% of your time to extend your life by less than 5% is a winning deal. For that matter, even if it does extend your life by 5% or more, I'm trading time in my twenties for time in my sixties or seventies. Needless to say, time in my twenties is more valuable to me. I don't know exactly how many days of life as a 65-year-old I'd trade for 1 extra day of life as a 28-year-old, but it would probably be several. I never noticed any other benefits, like feeling refreshed all day or being able to do other things quicker and faster, as a result of exercising. (On the contrary, anything I did afterwards usually took longer because I was tired.) bennett@peacefire.org wrote in part: >Are there any studies on how many years get added to your life on >average as a result of regular exercise? I exercise on an elliptical [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] >exercising. (On the contrary, anything I did afterwards usually took >longer because I was tired.) The answer depends on your options. If you are currently being paid $1000/hr in a job where you will soon be found out and you have to take time off to exercise, stop the exercise. If a gorgeous woman is following you around and you just don't have time, stop the exercise. If stopping the exercise means you have time to watch an extra sit-com or drink one more beer, keep up the exercise! Etc. As to trading off days at 28 for days at 65, I dunno. I'm 62 and I'd trade at least ten days at 25 for one at 62, were that only possible. -- Jim Chinnis Warrenton, Virginia, USA jchinnis@alum.mit.edu > If stopping the exercise means you have time to watch an extra sit-com or > drink one more beer, keep up the exercise! By the way, you can spend time on exercise *and* watch an extra sit-com at the same time! ;-) -- [...] > you're spending about 5% of your waking hours on exercise. Unless the > exercise extends your lifespan by significantly more than 5%, it's not > obvious to me why spending 5% of your time to extend your life by less > than 5% is a winning deal. IMHO exercise should help stay fit and healthy, not just to extend your lifespan. Besides, the time you spend on exercise is not "lost"... it can fun sometimes. :-) I think you are losing out on some benefits of exercise simply by the approach and attitude you take to exercise. For example, you kinda force yourself to use the elliptical 1/2 hour every day, staring at the inside of the house, kinda wondering if it is a waste of time and if there is a positive return on your time. Another guy, let's say me, takes his camera and his bicycle and goes for a long bike ride alternately riding like mad over rough areas and then stopping to take some photos while enjoying the quiet and the fresh air of the countryside. After several hours literally fly by, I've rejuvenated myself physically and mentally, never having even noticed the time slip away or the amount of physical exertion. I don't even worry about the possibility or the quantity of positive return because I do it 'cause it's fun and feels good and the positive effects just flow from all of it and not just the physical. Life isn't about forcing yourself to exercise X amount of time per day, it is about doing something fun that happens to result in exercise, mental rejuvenation, and feeling better all around. And if you have to do it with a group, such as a fun basketball game or floor hockey, or helping a friend clean up his or her yard or work in the garden or whatever physical activity you have to do that you can enjoy, then that works too. Just going for a walk can do the trick. Do what's fun and keep moving, that's all that matters. TC > Are there any studies on how many years get added to your life on > average as a result of regular exercise? I exercise on an elliptical [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > exercising. (On the contrary, anything I did afterwards usually took > longer because I was tired.) > Are there any studies on how many years get added to your life on > average as a result of regular exercise? I exercise on an elliptical > for about half an hour every day, and I'm trying to figure out whether > the increased lifespan actually makes up for the time that exercise > takes up! (It certainly never caused any weight loss -- nothing worked > for that until I joined Weight Watchers.) Your answer is here: http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0003.htm Roland |
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