These 9 Types of Fun Sports Can Delay Death, You Know!

 Exercise can certainly help you live a better life, but how? Are certain activities better than others?

A study published in the BMJ suggests that exercise can reduce your risk of dying from cardiovascular-related problems such as heart disease or stroke, and there are some activities that may be more beneficial than others.

“There is a lot of evidence showing that physical activity is good for our health. But (World Health Organization or WHO) recommends generic physical activity, without specifics. We are interested in how exercise can contribute to health and how different sports disciplines can benefit health,” explains Dr. Pekka Oja, from the UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research in Finland.

Oja and his team wanted to expand on existing studies on the benefits of exercise. Most previous studies have focused on the short-term health benefits of exercise, or the effects of exercise intensity, but have not shown any long-term effects.

Ultimately, the researchers wanted to find out whether exercise delayed death, either from cardiovascular disease or other causes. They also wanted to know which types of physical activity could prolong life the longest.

So, Oja and his colleagues analyzed data from 11 annual health surveys from England and Scotland conducted between 1994 and 2008, involving 80,306 adults with an average age of 52.

Participants self-reported the type and amount of exercise they had done in the past 4 weeks, and whether it left them breathless and caused them to sweat. Exercises that are included as reported by the Natural Society, include:

Housekeeping and gardening

Walk

Bicycle

Swimming

Aerobics

Gymnastics or dance

Run

Football or rugby

Badminton, tennis or squash

The team tracked participants' survival for an average of 9 years, during which time 8,790 participants died from all causes. Of that number, 1,909 died of heart disease or stroke.

When the researchers compared participants who exercised with those who did not, they found that the risk of death during follow-up from any cause was:

47 percent lower among those who play racquet sports

28 percent lower among swimmers

27 percent lower among aerobic dancers

15 percent lower among cyclists

Racket sport appears to be the best type of exercise for preventing death from heart disease and stroke. Racquet players were found to have a 56 percent lower risk of death, swimmers had a 41 percent lower risk, and those who participated in aerobics had a 36 percent lower risk compared to people who didn't exercise.

Runners and footballers do have a lower death rate from heart disease. Tim Chico, a consultant cardiologist from the professor at the University of Sheffield in the UK, who was not involved in the study, said:

“While this is not statistically significant, many other studies have found that runners live longer and suffer less heart disease.