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there is a positive correlation between exercise and health, and exercise is one of the most important behaviors to improve and maintain our physical health. more and more studies have shown that exercise has many benefits, including helping to prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, metabolic diseases, improving the treatment of various cancers, and having a beneficial effect on a wide range of cognitive functions.

however, the associations between different intensities of physical activity, prolonged sitting, and longevity remain underexplored.

on september 4, 2024, researchers from sun yat-sen university GeroScience "a research paper titled "active longevity and aging: dissecting the impacts of physical and sedentary behaviors on longevity and age acceleration" was published in the journal.

research shows that higher levels of moderate physical activity are most beneficial for longevity and slowing aging, whereas vigorous physical activity and prolonged sitting accelerate aging. in addition, the benefits of moderate physical activity on extending lifespan are partly mediated through lipids.

note: the metabolic equivalent of moderate physical activity is 4 mets, including: brisk walking, cycling, climbing stairs, dancing, etc. (reference: sitting is 1 met, normal walking is 3.3 mets.)

in this study, the researchers combined observational studies and mendelian randomization (mr) studies to include 20,924 chinese participants aged 50 years or above in the guangzhou biobank cohort study (gbcs). physical activity and sedentary data of the participants were collected in the form of questionnaires. longevity was defined as participants aged over 90%, and accelerated aging was defined as the difference between phenotypic age and actual age. the causal relationship between physical activity (pa), sedentary age (sb) and longevity and accelerated aging (aa) was analyzed.

overall, during an average follow-up of 15 years, 2,991 participants were classified as the longevity group and the others as the control group, with a mean baseline age of 73.3 and 57.7 years, respectively.

an analysis of physical activity, sedentary behavior, and longevity found thatcompared with low levels of pa, moderate pa and vigorous pa were associated with an increased likelihood of longevity, with moderate pa associated with a 56% increased likelihood of longevity and vigorous pa associated with a 66% increased likelihood of longevity.

notably, the frequency, duration, and level of moderate pa were positively correlated with the likelihood of longevity, whereas vigorous pa showed the opposite result.

in addition, for different genders, the positive correlation between physical activity and longevity is more significant in men.

analysis of physical activity, sedentary behavior, and accelerated aging found that compared with low levels of pa, moderate pa and vigorous pa were associated with lower accelerated aging. further analysis found that a higher frequency of moderate pa was associated with a lower risk of accelerated aging for more than 5 years, while a longer duration of vigorous pa was associated with a higher risk of accelerated aging for more than 5 years.

the above results show thatfor exercise of different intensities, moderate pa may bring greater benefits in longevity and anti-aging in terms of exercise level, frequency, and duration.

high levels of moderate pa are associated with greater likelihood of longevity and less accelerated aging

mediation analysis showed that the benefits of physical activity on longevity and accelerated aging were partially mediated by lipids. among the total effects of physical activity on longevity, ldl-c mediated the largest effect (8.23%). and among the total effects of physical activity on delaying aging, triglycerides mediated the largest effect (7.81%).

mediation analysis

finally, the researchers also conducted a two-sample mendelian randomization analysis, and the results showed thatgenetically predicted sedentary time was positively associated with accelerated aging, suggesting that prolonged sitting accelerates aging.

the researchers said that this is the first study to combine observational and mr studies to analyze the association and causal relationship between physical activity, sitting and longevity and accelerated aging. in this large study of chinese people, moderate pa was associated with a higher likelihood of longevity and a lower likelihood of accelerated aging, while vigorous pa and sitting were associated with accelerated aging.

in conclusion, this large chinese-based study showed that moderate pa was associated with a higher likelihood of longevity and less accelerated aging, whereas vigorous pa and prolonged sitting were associated with accelerated aging. the benefits of physical activity on longevity and anti-aging are partly mediated through lipids.

research reminds us that sitting less and moving more may be an effective strategy for healthier life and slower aging.

reference: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-024-01329-3

source: yinovi

written by | song wenfa

editor | swagpp