Fend off Grim Reaper by up to 40% with these tips

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Exercise is good for us.

While not exactly breaking news, recent research out of Australia confirms the long-held belief that exercise is key to a longer, healthier life.

Physical activity has been proven to improve cardiovascular health, strengthen muscles and bones, and also help manage weight while boosting mood.

As we age, our muscles tend to shrink while our bones become less dense and more fragile. What’s worse, finding the time for strength training can become more challenging due to increasing family and work demands.

How much exercise should we aim for? Adults should try for 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and at least two days of muscle strengthening per week, per the New York Post.

The Australian study out of the University of Queensland linked consistent exercise in adulthood to a 30% to 40% lower risk of death from any cause, particularly heart disease.

A premature or early death is typically defined as death before the age of 75.

“Our results emphasized the importance of (physical activity) across adulthood, indicating that initiating (it) at any point in adulthood may provide survival benefits,” the study authors said in a statement, per the Post.

The researchers reviewed 85 studies that highlighted exercise patterns across adulthood, benefits of different levels of activity, and long-lasting effects of years of exercise.

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Among the analysis conclusions were that out-of-shape adults who started working out were 22% less likely to die early from any cause than those who stayed inactive.

Additionally, adults who were consistently active all the time or just in their leisure time were 40% less likely to die from heart disease and 25% less likely to die from cancer compared to the gym-adverse.

Interestingly, logging more than the maximum recommended 300 weekly minutes of exercise yielded only small additional gains in delaying death.

For more health news and content around diseases, conditions, wellness, healthy living, drugs, treatments and more, head to Healthing.ca – a member of the Postmedia Network.