04-07-2025
This Exercise Is Linked To 9.7 Extra Years Of Life – And You Can Do It In Your Back Yard
It doesn't matter what you do – study after study shows that any amount of activity is far, far better than none for your physical and mental health.
But once you've committed to a solid workout routine, you might start to wonder whether your plan is the most efficient one.
Strength training is touted as a bone-protecting habit that'll save you from frailty in older age; while cardio, such as running, is linked to better, not worse, joints, and improved heart and lung health.
And a 2018 Danish study found one of the best individual sports might be the season's trendiest: tennis.
In the paper, scientists followed 8,577 Danish residents aged 20-93 from 1991 to 2017. Participants were all part of the Copenhagen City Heart Study (CCHS), a population study which gave people detailed questionnaires about their activity levels.
Researchers wanted to 'evaluate the differential improvements in life expectancy associated with participation in various sports'. They found that regular tennis players lived 9.7 years longer than those who didn't work out at all.
They also outperformed other sports like badminton (linked to 6.2 years of added longevity), football (4.7 years), cycling (3.7 years), swimming (3.4 years), jogging (3.2 years), and callisthenics (3.1 years).
Among the participants studied, those doing 'health club activities' – like running on the treadmill, using a stair master or cross-trainer, and cycling on a stationary bike – were only linked to 1.5 extra years.
No – as the scientists themselves note, 'because this is an observational study, it remains uncertain whether this relationship is causal'.
The benefits of strength training are very well-established, too.
But the researchers did find that the social aspect of tennis may have had benefits for players, which other experts have also suggested.
A 2019 study found that tennis players had better grip strength, linked to increased longevity; a British Medical Journal paper linked playing racket sports like tennis, badminton, and squash to a 47% lower chance of all-cause mortality (higher than swimmers, cyclists, and those who did aerobics).
I reckon I need to take up a new sport this Wimbledon season...
Your Postcode Is Ageing You: New Report Exposes North-South Longevity Gap
HRV Is Linked To 'Exceptional Longevity': Here's What It Can (And Can't) Tell You About Your Health
Is The 'Japanese' Or 'Mediterranean' Diet Healthier? I Asked A Longevity Doctor
