Activity & Longevity
Care and nurturing of the body and mind would seem to be a simple case of common sense yet for most of the population little active thought, planning or time is given to this important maintenance activity.

In the early 1950's transportation workers were studied in London and it was shown that sedentary bus drivers had more coronary heart disease than active conductors on double-decker buses. Longshoremen in San Francisco in the 1970's were shown to demonstrate increasing coronary disease with decreasing activity. Harvard alumni have been followed since 1962 with activity questionnaires and a recent study involved nearly 13,000 men.

Clear evidence is present of increased longevity in those engaged in regular physical activity. Some of the data suggests a greater than 40% lower death rate from coronary heart disease in the physically active group. Improvement in cancer rates with exercise is not as clear-cut, but some studies suggest a reduction of colon and prostate cancer in the most physically active groups.

Physical inactivity, as measured by low fitness levels, has been estimated to account for 12% of all deaths in the United States. Indeed, poor fitness has been found to be as strong a predictor of death as the more familiar risk factors, such as cigarette smoking, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure.

Increased physical activity has been shown to be a significant factor in allowing people to reach old age without developing a disability or entering a nursing home. Concerns about disability may be greater than the fear of death for most people. A recent study has found that among the most physically active of over one thousand elderly adults followed for 10 years, there was twice the likelihood of dying without disability compared with those who were sedentary.

How Much to Exercise?
For the average person who is not trying to build muscle mass or train for a specific sport there are some good guidelines for the level of exercise which will significantly lower the risks of developing cardiovascular disease, and possibly cancer. An exercise program that results in burning about 2000 calories per week over and above normal activity seems to be optimal. More exercise than that may also be beneficial but the benefits seem to decrease quickly for the increased effort.

How much is 2000 calories?
Well it depends on your metabolic rate, your height and weight and a number of other factors but a good ballpark estimate for most people is that if you walk at a pace of 3.0 to 3.5 miles per hour you will burn about 300 calories in an hour. Walking an hour a day, or the equivalent, six times per week will achieve nearly the optimum activity level of exercise. Would three days a week be even worth doing? Certainly! Any amount of regular exercise is beneficial. There are significant benefits from exercising even 15 minutes on a regular basis. A study involving over 39,000 women showed a beneficial effect from walking once a week. This was true even in the women who already had coronary disease, were smokers, were overweight, or had high cholesterols.