This is news that should delight fans of the little yellow ball and racquet sports in general:a British study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine has just revealed that they are the most likely to reduce the risk of mortality, far ahead of jogging, football or rugby, which have no impact.
The study was carried out on 80,306 adults, men and women with an average age of 52, who were followed for 9 years. Age, BMI, physical and psychological condition as well as lifestyle habits (alcohol and cigarettes) were taken into account. The researchers then tried to highlight the link between the practice of a particular sport (six categories in total) and the risk of mortality in general and more particularly of cardiovascular disease. Verdict? People who played tennis, badminton or squash were 47% less likely to die from any cause (compared to people who did not play these sports) and 56% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease.
The study also demonstrated the positive impact of other sports, in particular swimming (28% less chance of dying and 41% for cardiovascular disease), but also fitness, including activities such as Zumba® or aerobics (27% less chance of dying and 36% for cardiovascular disease) and cycling (which reduces the chance of dying by 15%, but has no impact on cardiovascular disease). As for football, rugby and jogging, no improvement in life expectancy has been observed among people who practice them. Damn, then!
The conclusion of the study? Yes, sport has a positive impact on health (if we still doubted it…), but above all, the type of exercises practiced plays a huge role. Like what, it's not just running in life!
