Does Exercise Extend Your Lifespan or Just Your Healthspan?
I was surprised by how much controversy is in the medical literature over whether the apparent longevity benefits of exercise are even real.
Isn’t that mind-blowing?
This is the third video in a four-part series. If you missed the first two, see How Many Steps Should We Get Every Day? ( ) and Exercise is Medicine ( ). Stay tuned for How Much Exercise Is Too Much? ( ).
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Curious for this one!
Follow the data! Small effects can accumulate over time. Stay strong!
I is confuzzed
Your such a silly billy
Amazing, i really think that exercices isnt a miracle to longevety but very good to healthspan
If I had to guess, Exercise alone only extends the physiological performance capacity of your body by forcefully stimulating growth factors to keep it functional even though damage through traditional diet is being done. So a combination of optimal diet of antioxidant rich, anti-inflammatory diet of plant whole food extends your body’s capacity to support that physique, extending your life as a result. Even elite athletes have signs of artery calcification and atherosclerosis, you can even make a hypothesis that their arteries might be worse off as extended stress, both chemical and physical cause arterial stiffening. High performance comes at a cost.
Just guessing, that the typical lousy diet would confound any difference in amount of exercise. Runners eating lots of refined carbohydrate, resistance trainers eating lots of steak ‘n’ eggs, and so on?
I think we need both a good diet and exercise, but if I can only pick one, I am picking diet.
@@aldovirooothis has to be one of the worst comments I’ve ever seen in my life. That’s basically saying, “You know that thing that thing has hazard ratios in the whole numbers reducing risk by, like, a hundred percent? Yeah, I’d rather focus on that thing with hazard ratios in the decimals so low that it’s hard to even detect a difference so I can reduce risk by, like, 5%” 🤦♂️.
@@seban-jackedweeb5513 I agree, a critical study meta-analysis showed people who eat more salt until a certain point lives longer than those with reduced salt, and also showed that those who consumed saturated fats and had higher level of cholesterol had less neurovascular events and lived longer than those with reduced fat ingestion.
IMHO a good diet that keeps your inflammation levels low enables you to move a lot, so nutrition might be a prerequisite for exercise
@@seban-jackedweeb5513 What nonsense are your saying there? “You know that thing that thing”… what thing? A proper diet is a lot more important than exercising. You’ll die sooner if you gorge on McD burgers and fries even if you exercise a lot, than if you eat clean, nutritious food and only move when you need to do something.
Thank you!
This sounds a bit confusing. There are so many studies that find a clear link between the vo 2 max value and longevity. Like “Midlife Cardiorespiratory Fitness and the Long-Term Risk of Mortality: 46 Years of Follow-Up”
Vo2 Max can be easily trained from all I read, I would have loved to hear more about the topic.
High VO2 max is a great marker of health eg you are likely a non-smoker, not in a wheelchair and dont have diabetes or a psychiatric disease
@@Peter-dw5xq @Peter-dw5xq I appreciate your perspective and I do agree that a high VO₂ max is often associated with overall health markers like non-smoking status, absence of diabetes, and fewer physical limitations. However, it seems that studies suggest that VO₂ max isn’t only an indicator of existing health but also a modifiable factor that could actively contribute to increased longevity.
Research, including long-term studies highlight that a higher VO₂ max correlates with reduced mortality risk over the years. It’s also shown that many people, regardless of initial fitness levels, can achieve significant improvements (often around 20% from what I saw) with consistent training over a few months. This suggests that VO₂ max may not just reflect health but actively promote it when improved.
If VO₂ max indeed contributes to longevity, it might deserve a place in preventive health advice, much like blood pressure management does. There are numerous cases of people who have overcome health challenges through exercise: friends who’ve quit smoking, relatives who manage their diabetes through lifestyle changes, and family members who find ways to exercise even with severe conditions like Parkinson’s.
So, while I see your point that a good VO₂ max often correlates with existing health, there seems to be evidence that individuals who are able to improve their levels should consider doing so.
(And I want to emphasize that I certainly don’t claim to have all the answers – quite the opposite. I just find the topic fascinating and had hoped Dr. Greger would delve into it more deeply, especially since so many others attribute such importance to VO2 max for health and longevity.)
So, if I understand correctly, it doesn’t extend your life. So, I might not live longer, but I’ll live better. That’s much important to me than adding a few years of questionable health.
Just means youl wear your joints out faster and then want to pass away quicker
@@VeganChiefWarrior exercise properly is actually good for joints. being over weight or too inactive is bad.
oh well. will continue to exercise for the main reason that it helps my mood for a while afterward.
@@VeganChiefWarrior that makes literally no sense. resistance training, strengthens your joints.wow
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Mightily impressed by this video, thank you. I exercise a lot because I enjoy it but I doubt it will increase my lifespan.
I’m with you Peter. My genes grant me my lifespan but my self-care grants me my health.
I am not convinced.
My guy looked at a Mic the Vegan video and and decided to copy off his homework. 😂
It is the other way around, actually. These uploaded clips are old.
Personally I think of keeping moving for brain health and lifting heavy things to keep muscle and bone from eating away as we get older.
I’m not looking to stay here longer than I have to
My position on exercise and diet is not predicated on making me live longer but instead, healthier. I’m a firm believer that ancestry grants me my lifespan but diligence gives me my health.
It’s amazing if exercise doesn’t add to lifespan. I’m 72 and the people I know my age are all suffering from chronic illnesses, except me. I exercise a lot and have none…so…this just confuses me.
Physical activity reduces the risk of dementia, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. But a brisk 45 minute walk 3 times a week can be enough to get these positiv results, according to experts here in my country Sweden.
Really interesting, this is coming from a consistent exerciser getting 7-8 hours a week of cardio/resistance training. I have a feeling people overstate the benefits of exercise for longevity as it is non controversial as everyone agrees you need physical activity. Whereas if you focus on dietary interventions you are kicking a hornet’s nest. Far easier for a health professional to tell a patient to exercise than to argue about diet.
There is a ludicrous focus in the pop culture longevity space at the moment on building muscle mass as the ultimate anti-ageing pursuit. Seemingly thinking that if you have enough lean tissue you will be set up perfectly for longevity. This uses huge extrapolations from population data showing the highest quintile in grip strength live the longest ignoring the confounders and the fact that the top quintile of the population aren’t pumping iron, just slightly fitter than average. The jacked TRT taking middle aged are not living the longest!
People who exercise more also eat more. Hence, the quality of the diet partially determines the effect of exercise.
If one eats a toxic diet that consists of mostly salty-greasy foods, then exercising more means eating more salty-greasy foods…..