Exercise Variety Linked to Lower Mortality Risk, Study Finds

You may want to vary the forms of exercise you undertake during the week. A new study has identified a substantial association between taking part in a wider range of physical activities and a reduced risk of death.

Researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in the US examined 30 years of data from more than 111,000 people. They compared participants’ self-reported exercise habits with deaths recorded over the course of the study.

Exercise variety and mortality risk

Participants whose exercise routines showed the greatest variety had a 19 percent lower risk of death during the study period than those whose routines were the least varied, provided their overall amount of exercise was broadly similar.

"The findings support the notion that promoting engagement in a diverse range of physical activity types, alongside increasing total physical activity levels, may help reduce the risk of premature death," write the researchers in their published paper.

The analysis took account of potentially contributing factors, such as lifestyle, demographic characteristics and dietary habits. As this was an observational study, it cannot establish direct cause and effect; nevertheless, the findings reveal a strong association that merits additional investigation.

The team notes that combining different exercises works different areas of the body, which could produce more comprehensive improvements in health.

Total physical activity also matters

Higher overall levels of exercise were likewise associated with longer life, underlining the lasting advantages of building moderate levels of physical activity into everyday life.

There was, however, a plateau at around 20 hours per week. Exercising beyond that amount made little difference either way to mortality risk.

The activities included in the study encompassed many forms of exercise, including swimming, cycling, mowing the lawn and climbing stairs. Any activity counts, provided it gets you moving with a reasonable degree of intensity.

"People naturally choose different activities over time based on their preferences and health conditions," says nutrition scientist Yang Hu.

"When deciding how to exercise, keep in mind that there may be extra health benefits to engaging in multiple types of physical activity, rather than relying on a single type alone."

Study limitations and expert response

Several limitations should be considered. Participants reported their own physical activity rather than having it measured scientifically, while the datasets consisted mainly of White health professionals. In addition, the research did not examine the effects of changing an individual exercise routine; it only compared routines across different people.

Even so, the study offers an interesting new perspective on the advantages of exercise. We already know that even small amounts can be beneficial, and varying the types of exercise may also be worthwhile.

"The new finding in this study was that physical activity variety may also be good for health," says Tom Yates, a physiologist at the University of Leicester in the UK, who was not involved in the study.

"In some ways this might be analogous to diet, variety in and off itself could have health benefits."

The research has been published in BMJ Medicine.