A study suggests that diversifying the sports a person engages in may help extend lifespan. Conducted by a research team from several universities and scientific institutions, including Harvard Medical School, Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea, and Chongqing University in China, and published in the medical journal BMJ Medicine, the researchers tracked the health of over 110,000 adults for 30 years. The participants engaged in a variety of activities, ranging from walking and running to cycling, strength training, yoga, and stair climbing. During the study period, approximately 39,000 participants died from causes related to heart disease, cancer, and respiratory issues. The study revealed that engaging in sports, particularly individual ones, reduces the overall risk of death. For instance, walking lowers the risk by 17%, and stair climbing by 10%. However, the greatest benefit comes from diversifying the types of sports a person participates in. It was found that varying physical activity reduces the overall risk of death by 19%, while also decreasing the likelihood of death from heart disease, cancer, and respiratory problems by 13–41%. The HealthDay website, citing researchers involved in the study, noted that this research does not prove a causal link between exercise and mortality, but it suggests that the diversity of one's physical efforts is as important as exercising itself.
