- January 22, 2025
Each of us has certainly heard the slogan "sport is health" in his or her life. However, not everyone wondered what it means in practice. However, this issue was addressed by the researchers at The Copenhagen City Heart Study.
This is a huge project in which the research group consisted of 20,000 inhabitants of the Danish capital observed by scientists since 1976. 25 years of observations show that different sports have a greater or lesser impact on life expectancy. So tennis players can expect to live almost 10 years longer than people with a sedentary lifestyle. Badminton gives 6.2 extra years, football over four, cycling - 3.7, swimming - 3.4, and running - 3.2 years. Fitness sports and fitness classes also lengthen life, although to a lesser extent. An interesting observation may be the fact that those sports that require contact with other people are of greater benefit.
The analyses carried out on the basis of these studies show a somewhat surprising relationship. Among the runners, those who run in a moderate way have the greatest health benefits. The ideal intensity of effort is 3 workouts per week with a total distance of 6 miles (about 9.5 km) at a rate of 7 miles per hour (about 11.2 km/h). Further increasing the intensity of training will not make us live longer, and the most avid runners statistically live slightly shorter than the moderate ones (although still longer than people with sedentary lifestyles). It may be suspected that this dependence also applies to all other sports. Let's remember - moderate, but systematic sport is better for our health than competitive sport!
Since we already know that the health benefits of sport are not only reserved for professionals, it is worth turning this knowledge into practice. In order not to be discouraged as soon as the first fascination has passed, it is worth to realize a few things from the very beginning.
Let's remember that regular sport is only one of the elements of a larger whole, which is a healthy lifestyle. Physical exercise, although it makes it easier to lose weight, cannot completely replace a proper, balanced diet. And it is worth knowing that obesity, especially when it develops at a young age, shortens life by a few years on average. It is also increasingly stressed that regular sleep of at least 7 hours is an important factor in maintaining wellbeing. It is difficult to change all your habits at once, but if we start today, our chances for a long life in health will increase.
