Exercise Keeps Men Alive Only 1-2 Years Longer

STANFORD — A study by Stanford and Harvard professors has revealed that physically active men live only about one to two years longer than their sedentary counterparts.

Dr. Ralph Paffenbarger, the Stanford epidemiologist who led the study, said the increased life span seems to be a result of reduced cardiovascular and respiratory disease in those who exercise.

Paffenbarger, who exercises regularly, said he was disappointed to learn that a physically active life style only prolongs life about two years.

“I would have guessed that it would have been longer,” he said.

The report was published in a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The study followed 16,936 Harvard alumni, aged 35 to 74, for 16 years.

Researchers pointed out that the study does not prove that exercise prolongs life, nor did it answer the question of whether a change in life style, from sedentary to active, can prolong life. But it did show that the men who habitually spent three or more hours per week exercising lived longer than those who rarely exercised.