The NJ Police Chief Magazine Volume 23, Number 4 | Seite 33

The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | April 2017
Healthy Living Tips from
HEALTHY LIFESTYLE TIP: Want a Longer, Better Life?
Exercise pays—all through your life
The secret to a longer life may not be much of a secret at all: One recent study of almost 6,000 men
shows that those who continue to be moderately physically active later in life lowered their risk of death!
According to the study, increasing physical activity benefited life span as much as quitting smoking.
This study involved more than 5,700 men born from 1923 to 1932 who had a health check in 1972-73 and
again in 2000. Of the men who led sedentary lives—couch potatoes who didn’t exercise--51 percent died
during the follow-up period between early 2000 and late 2011. However, only about 25 percent of those
who were moderately to vigorously active died during the same time period!
The message, plain and clear: Just 30 minutes of moderate activity six days a week was associated with a
40 percent lower risk of death!
More dangerous than obesity?
Another study of 334,000 women and men tracked waist circumference and self-reported levels of physical
activity over the course of 12 years. These researchers found that eliminating physical inactivity would
reduce the number of deaths twice as much as eradicating obesity!
These results lend further support to the role of exercise in preventing mental decline, maintaining function
and enhancing cardiac fitness, among other benefits. The good news? Even a little exercise—as few as 20
minutes of walking a day—reduced the risk of early death by up to 30 percent!
Ready to start improving your quality of life and living longer? Just get moving! Watch TV peddling a
stationary bike, walk as you talk on the phone, take the stairs at work--every little bit of exercise counts
and will pay BIG dividends toward greater enjoyment of your life!
For an appointment or more information about how Deborah Heart and Lung Center’s
leading-edge technologies can improve your quality of life: 800.555.1990
or request info/an appointment: www.demanddeborah.org
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