Going to the gym this many times a week cuts the risk of dying early

By Gwyn Wright via SWNS

Going to the gym or even gardening for half an hour a week cuts the risk of dying early by up to a fifth, according to a new study.

Just half an hour to an hour of muscle strength training each week cuts the risk of death from heart disease, diabetes and cancer by between 10 and 20 percent.

And combined with aerobic exercise the risk can drop by 40 percent.

Heavy gardening counts as a strength training session just as much as lifting weights or doing press ups does, according to the academics.

But working out for a longer than that does nothing to cut the risk further.

It is already known that flexing our muscles is linked to a lower risk of death but scientists had not probed what the optimal dose might be.

For the study, the academics scoured research databases for observational studies where adults without major health issues had been monitored for at least two years.

They analyzed 16 studies, the earliest of which was published ten years ago.

Most of the studies were carried out in the US with the rest taking place in the UK, Australia and Japan.

The longest people had been monitored for was 25 years.

Participants were aged 18 to 97 and the number of people taking part in each study ranged from almost 4,000 to almost 500,000.

Of the studies, 12 included both men and women, two included men only while three included women only.

They all considered the effect aerobic forms of exercise such as running and jumping as well as strength training.

Muscle strengthening activities were linked to a lower risk of death from any cause, as well as death from heart disease and stroke, cancer, diabetes, and lung cancer.

The best results were achieved after 30 to 60 minutes of muscle strength training.

However no link was found between muscle training and some forms of cancer including bowel, kidney, bladder and pancreatic cancer.

People who do strength training and aerobic exercise were at an even lower risk from all causes of death, heart disease and cancer.

The researchers found people who did both were at a 40 percent lower risk from all causes of death, a 46 percent lower risk from heart disease and a 28 percent lower risk from cancer.

Study author Dr. Haruki Momma of Tohoku University in Japan said: “The combination of muscle strengthening and aerobic activities may provide a greater benefit for reducing all-cause, cardiovascular disease and total cancer mortality.

“Given that the available data are limited, further studies—such as studies focusing on a more diverse population—are needed to increase the certainty of the evidence.”

The findings were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.