Population Group |
Type and Amount of Activities |
Observed Benefit |
10,269 Harvard alumni |
Walking at least 9 miles a week |
22% lower death rate |
|
Climbing at least 55 flights of stairs a week |
33% lower death rate[9] |
836 residents of King County, Washington |
Gardening at least 1 hour/week |
66% lower risk for sudden cardiac death |
|
Walking at least 1 hour/week |
73% lower risk for sudden cardiac death[10] |
1453 middle-aged Finnish men |
At least 2.2 hours of leisure time activity a week |
69% lower risk for heart attack |
4484 Icelandic men aged 45-80 |
Spending at least 43 minutes a day on leisure time physical activity after age 40 |
16% lower risk for stroke[11] |
73,743 American women aged 50-79 |
Walking for at least 2.5 hours per week |
30% lower risk for cardiovascular events[12] |
44,452 American male health professionals |
Walking at least 30 minutes/day |
18% lower risk for coronary artery disease |
39,372 American female health professionals |
Walking at least 1 hour/week |
51% lower risk for coronary artery disease[13] |
72,488 American female nurses |
Walking at least 3 hours/week |
35% lower risk for heart attack and cardiac death |
|
|
34% lower risk for stroke[14] |
30,640 Danish men and women aged 20-93 |
Spending 2-4 hours/week on light leisure time activity |
32% lower mortality rate[15] |
4311 British men aged 40-59 |
Performing light-to-moderate physical activity |
35% to 39% lower mortality rate[16] |
1404 female residents of Framingham, Massachusetts |
Performing moderate physical activity |
37% lower mortality rate[17] |
802 Dutch men, aged 64-84 |
Walking or biking at least 1 hour/week |
29% lower mortality rate[18] |
707 retired Hawaiian men, aged 61-81 |
Walking at least 2 miles/day |
50% lower mortality rate[19] |
9518 older American women |
Walking up to 10 miles/week |
29% lower mortality rate[20] |
229 postmenopausal American women |
Walking 1 mile/day or more (a 10-year randomized clinical trial) |
82% lower risk for heart disease[21] |
7951 pairs of Finnish twins |
Exercising at least 30 minutes on at least 6 days/month |
43% lower mortality rate[22] |
6017 Japanese men, aged 35-60 |
Walking (to work) for 21 minutes or more on work days |
29% lower risk of developing hypertension[23] |
1645 Americans aged 65 and older |
Walking more than 4 hours/week |
27% lower mortality rate |
|
|
31% lower risk for hospitalization for heart disease[24] |
3206 Swedish men and women aged 65 and older |
Performing physical activity at least once a week |
40% lower mortality rate[25] |
3316 Finnish men and women with type 2 diabetes |
Performing moderate leisure time physical activity |
18% lower mortality rate[26] |
1204 Swedish men and 550 women aged 45-70 |
Walking or performing demanding household work |
54% (men) and 84% (women), lowers risk for heart attacks[27] |
2229 European men and women aged 70-90 |
Performing moderate physical activity |
37% lower mortality rate |