How Millions of Americans Could Live 5 Years Longer

American adults over the age of 40 could expect to live an extra five years if they were as active as the top 25 percent most physically active Americans, according to a study published on Thursday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. If the least active 25 percent of the over-40 American population did as much, they could live 11 years longer, the study estimated. "Our findings suggest that [physical activity] provides substantially larger health benefits than previously thought, which is due to the use of more precise means of measuring [it]," the study authors wrote. It is well known that movement is good for health, but these scientists wanted to find out exactly how it might impact life span, using data to create a predictive model to estimate the impact of different levels of physical activity on life expectancy. The scientists used data from the 2003-06 National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey—which tracked the activity levels of people over the age of 40—as well as 2019 population data from the U.S. Census Bureau and data about deaths recorded in 2017 with the National Center for Health Statistics. With that information, the scientists' model calculated the total physical activity of the most active 25 percent of Americans to be equivalent to two and a half hours of walking per day. If all over 40s in the U.S. matched this level of movement each day, the scientists estimated that their average life span would increase from 78.6 years to nearly 84 years. And if the least physically active quarter of Americans over the age of 40 matched these levels of movement—by walking for nearly two hours more each day—they could increase their life span by nearly 11 years.

"The greatest gain in lifetime per hour of walking was seen for individuals in the lowest activity quartile, where an hour's walk could add an impressive six hours to life," the study authors wrote. There were some limitations to this study. Since it is just a hypothetical model based on observational research, we cannot be sure that doing that much extra exercise would add on exactly that many years to our lives. But the authors said that efforts to create living environments that encouraged movement—such as walkable neighborhoods with green spaces and active transport options—could have a beneficial effect on Americans' life expectancy. Do you have a tip on a health story that Newsweek should be covering? Is there a health concern that's worrying you? Let us know via science@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured in Newsweek.

Reference

Veerman, L., Tarp, J., Wijaya, R., Wanjau, M. N., Möller, H., Haigh, F., Lucas, P., Milat, A. (2024). Physical activity and life expectancy: a life-table analysis, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 0(1-6). https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2024-108125