No matter what article or website you read, there is always new research that suggests one thing and another that says something totally different. But, it has now been proven that regular exercise has proven to increase your life expectancy.

Of course, this is great for those that want to live longer :) The findings also suggest that it is never too late to start regardless of your age.

Not only does exercise improve your life expectancy, but it also helps lower cholesterol, lowers blood pressure, reduces your risk of diabetes and also cancer. 

Alexander Mok, a doctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, led the new research, which appears in the journal The BMJ. 

Dr Mok conducted the study of over 14,500 subjects of both men and women called the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Norfolk study between 1993 and 1997. The age of the participants was between 40 and 79 years old.

They examined the subjects once at the beginning of the study and then a further three times until 2004. As part of the study, they looked at the subject’s lifestyle and other risk factors such as alcohol intake, diet and whether they were smokers or not. 

They also took note of the subject’s weight, age, blood pressure and also height.

How Exercise Helps

Having A Healthier Heart

Regular exercise is good for a number of reasons, but the main benefit is raising healthy HDL cholesterol and reducing LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. This is all sounds a little complicated, doesn’t it? 

In essence, you are lowering your blood pressure, burning fat which in turn lowers your blood sugar levels. 

The positive effect is less chance of having a stroke or heart attack which in turn increases your life expectancies.

Keeps Your Brain Sharp

Staying or becoming physically active is one way to keep your brain sharp. It keeps your blood vessels flowing throughout your body which in turn reduces the risk of a minor stroke. 

Not fully proven, but it is also believed to ward of symptoms Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

Controls Blood Sugar Levels

More and more of us are now contracting type 2 diabetes in the western world. We are also contracting it at a much younger age than at any time in history which is alarming. 

By regularly exercising, we are able to maintain a healthy weight and also boost our sensitivity to insulin which in turn reduces blood sugar levels.

This even helps those who have diabetes, making it easier to control their blood sugar levels.

Lowers Your Risk Of Cancer

Now, there are various different types of cancer. However, no matter which one we are talking about, regular exercise has proven to reduce your risk of contracting them with one study even saying exercise reduces the risk of colon cancer by up to 24% in men. 

Unfortunately, there is no evidence that it has the same effect on prostate cancer, but once a man has contracted it, regular exercise reduces the chances of it spreading.

Stay Strong and Mobile

As men get older, they also suffer from thinning bones. This can cause further problems like osteoporosis. Regular exercise has proven to help slow this process by constantly.  

The more you exercise the stronger the bones and the bone cartilage eventually get and the stronger a person gets, the easier the load is on the rest of their joints.

Other benefits are taken from an excerpt - https://wersports.com/blogs/news/proof-that-regular-exercise-provides-some-great-benefits

It Can Make You Feel Happier

You may find this surprising, but, regular exercise can actually make you feel happier and improve your mood. Since this is the case, your level of anxiety and stress starts to decrease.

So why is this?

It has everything to do with those chemicals buzzing around your body called serotonin and adrenalin.

Here’s a study that proves it:-

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/exercising-to-relax

Your body also produces more endorphins which are known to help your body produce positive feelings and wellbeing. This may not physically do anything, but give the perception of less pain. 

It Can Help With Weight Loss

Now before we go on. Let me just stress, that the whole weight loss thing is completely subjective and my point of view. 

Before taking on any sort of weight loss program, you are advised to seek advice from your doctor or medical professional.

Ok, with the disclaimer out of the way, exercise alongside healthy eating has excellent health benefits.

If you think about is from a basic form, if you burn more calories than you consume each day and you do this consistently, you should lose weight. 

Of course, there’s a bit more to it than that. But, studies have shown that regular exercise helps with weight loss.

It’s all to do with increasing your metabolic rate. By increasing it, you are aiding your weight loss.

It’s Great For Muscles & Bones

By exercising regularly you are able to build strong muscles and bones. Especially if you are using various different exercises using weights. 

In the long run, this type of strength training increases your physical work capacity, it also improves your activities of daily living (ADL) too.

As we get older, our bone density starts to decrease. By regularly exercising with weights we start to improve our bone density. 

You may not feel the effect of this now. However, it is something you will surely benefit from well into your old age.

By strengthening your muscles means you are able to carry out other exercises a lot easier. The easier they become, the more confidence you have.

Summary

In truth, it is a combination of most of these things that will help improve your life expectancy. 

They all help in their own small way. No matter what age you are or how much exercise you do. Every little bit helps. 

The idea is to slowly increase what you do each week/month.