Swimming makes you live longer

17th May, 2017

A group of public health researchers from Australia, Austria, and UK conducted a study among 80,306 British adults aged 30+ years to find out how participation in specific sports is associated with longevity. They had asked the participants about their participation in six sports; namely aerobics, cycling, football, racquet sports, running, and swimming, and on average 9 years later collected data on death cases.

Participation in swimming was found to be associated with 41% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and with 28% lower risk of premature death from any cause. The positive effects of swimming were similarly high regardless of the exercise intensity level.

These are encouraging and motivating findings for everybody who is considering to start swimming and also for those who already regularly swim. If you want to live longer and healthier, jump in the water as soon as possible!

For more details about the study findings, please see the full article recently published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/51/10/812).

Zeljko Pedisic, PhD, Senior Research Fellow and Leader | Active Living & Public Health Group | Institute of Sport, Exercise and Active Living (ISEAL). Victoria University Public Health Network (VUPHN), Australia