Researchers found that of the “least-fit” versus the “slightly more fit” in a recent study of nearly 4,400 healthy Americans, roughly 20 percent with the lowest physical fitness levels were twice as likely to die over the nine years of the study as the 20 percent with the next-lowest fitness levels. (That is to say, those 20 percent who were almost at the lowest fitness levels.) This is the familiar “bad news/good news” outcome. It is obviously bad news if you are a confirmed sofa spud. But, it is genuinely good news for those who haven’t quite hit rock bottom in the sedentary lifestyle department but are not, by definition, energetic. Apparently, those people who remain just moderately fit as they age may have a longer lifespan than those who are completely out-of-shape, the study suggests.

Between 1986 and 2006, researchers assessed the fitness levels of 4,384 middle-aged and senior men and women during exercise treatmill tests. The researchers then followed their progress for approximately nine years. The study took into consideration factors like obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. This, in and of itself, underscores the significants of being physically fit. In an email to Reuters Health, lead researcher, Dr. Sandra Mandic of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, noted: “Our findings suggest that a sedentary lifestyle, rather than differences in cardiovascular risk factors or age, may explain the two-fold higher mortality rates in the least-fit versus slightly more fit individuals.”

Nearly two-thirds of the least-fit study participants failed to get at least 30 minutes of moderate activity, five or more days a week, which was the minimum recommended amount of exercise. “These results emphasize the importance of improving and maintaining high fitness levels by engaging in regular physical activity,” Mandic said, “particularly in poorly-fit individuals.”

Separating the participants into five groups based on fitness levels, the researchers discovered that 25 percent of the least-fit individuals had died during the study period, versus 13 percent of those who were in slightly better shape. Only 6 percent of the most-fit group (i.e., the ones who “hit the bull’s eye,” so to speak) had died during the follow-up period.

The five fitness-level groups presented little variance, overall, in their reported exercise practices during most of their adult lives, but notably, they contrasted in activity levels only in recent years. “Since it is recent physical activity that offers protection,” Mandic said, “it is important to maintain regular physical activity throughout life.”

In this particular study, irrespective of weight and other health issues such as those mentioned above, fitness is clearly linked to longevity. Therefore, exercise is vital to the extension of our lifespan. And, perhaps it goes without saying, imagine the health benefits we could all experience if we worked our way up into the higher levels of fitness.

SOURCE: Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, August 2009.

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However, before you decide to add an extra cuppa to your morning ritual, let me add that also on the website, under “Related Stories,” were at least two articles reporting on studies that showed the negative effects of caffeine, “Morning Jolt of Caffeine May Mask Serious Sleep Problems,” and “Coffee Consumption Linked To Increased Risk Of Heart Attack For Persons With Certain Gene Variation.”

Nearly every point of view, from my experience, especially when it comes to age-related health issues, can be affirmed, or at least given credence, by a number of specific studies. The “yin-yang” of caffeine benefits-deficits certainly aren’t, of course, the only ones. But, it did get me to pondering about the probability that there will not ever be any “one thing” that will absolutely aid we, humans, in living longer, healthier lives. We are dynamic, biological creatures. We aren’t raised in unnatural confinement We are actively engaged in life. And, let’s face it, though Alzheimer’s disease may be on the rise, obviously no one has been “artificially induced to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease,” therefore caffeine isn’t entirely the “one thing” that is going to reverse or prevent it.

The human body is a splendid, involved system that is based on homeostasis or balance. Consequently good health is about a healthy, balanced approach to living, instead of our being momentarily convinced by the latest health study and “doing” or “overdoing” one specific thing under the illusion that it will reverse all of the other immoderate and unwholesome things we have done to our bodies.

I believe, as a doctor of chiropractic, that every moment of the day we have an opportunity to make decisions that will assist us to live longer, healthier lives, healthy choices for our body and mind. We know what genuinely “feels” beneficial and what doesn’t when it comes to what is good for our body. So, the next time you reach for that extra cup of coffee or that second glass of red wine, I hope that you’ll think about this. Neither one of those things is the “one thing” that will do “everything” for your good health.

Technorati Tags: age-related health issues, caffeine, Chiropractor, health, longevity, red wine