Body size—height and weight—may affect longevity in women much more than in men, new research suggests. And while physical activity has been linked to longer life in both sexes, it seems the more men spend every day doing physical activity, the better it is for their chances of getting older, while 60 minutes a day was associated with the best chance for women. , the findings point.
Previous research has looked at the associations between weight (BMI or body mass index), physical activity and reaching old age, but most studies have combined both sexes or focused solely on men.
The lifespan of women and men differs, possibly influenced by factors such as hormones, genes and/or lifestyle. To further explore these differences, the researchers analyzed data from the Dutch Cohort Study (NLCS), which included more than 120,000 men and women between the ages of 55 and 69 when it began in 1986. They wanted to see if there was any relationship between height, weight, leisure time physical activity and the likelihood of reaching 90 years of age and whether there were any differences between men and women.
Approximately 7807 participants (3646 men and 4161 women between the ages of 68 and 70) provided detailed information in 1986 about their current weight, height, weight at age 20 and their leisure time physical activity.
This included activities such as gardening, dog walking, DIY (home improvements), walking or biking to work, and recreational sports, which were grouped into categories of daily quota:less than 30 minutes; 30 to 60 minutes; and 90 minutes or more. Participants were then monitored until death or age 90, whichever came first.
The researchers considered potentially influential factors, such as whether the participants were current or former smokers, how much they drank, their level of education and usual energy intake. About 433 men (16.7%) and 944 women (34.4% ) survived to age 90.
Women who were still alive at this age weighed less on average at the start of the study and gained less weight since their 20s than those who were shorter and heavier.
Women who were more than 175 cm tall also had 31 percent more likely to reach 90 than women under 160 cm. Such associations were not seen in the men.
And when it came to physical activity levels, men who were active for more than 90 minutes a day were 39 percent more likely to live to be 90 than those who did it for less than 30 minutes. And each extra 30-minute daily effort they did was associated with a 5 percent increase in their chances of turning 90.
But this was not the case for women. Those who were active for more than 30-60 minutes a day were 21 percent more likely to reach 90 than those who were active for 30 minutes or less. But there seemed to be an optimal threshold for women:about 60 minutes a day was associated with the best chance of celebrating a 90th birthday.
There may be no link between body size and reaching old age in men, the researchers point out. But behavioral and disease history seemed to influence the associations found and there were differences between smokers and non-smokers.
