On April 15, the New York Times published an article on two studies that examined the benefits of exercise and its effect on health and longevity. One of the studies, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, was co-authored by BCRF grantee Dr. Kala Visvanathan.

Dr. Visvanathan spoke with BCRF about the study and its implications:

“The results of the study by Arem et al is yet another piece of evidence demonstrating the health benefit of ANY leisure time physical activity versus NONE.  It demonstrates that physical activity can improve longevity at any age,” said Dr. Kala Visvanathan, associate professor of epidemiology and oncology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland.

“The study confirms that individuals who commit as little as 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise or 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a week have a 30 percent reduction in mortality that includes cancer. Interestingly greater amounts of exercise only had a modest benefit. The study also showed that excessive exercise was not harmful,” continued Visvanathan. “In summary, physical activity can be as effective as some medications. The key is to start moving!”

 

To read The New York Times article click here.

A summary of the JAMA study can be found here.