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NEW YORK, Mar 26 (Reuters Health) - New study findings should give couch potatoes one more reason to get moving--being in good physical shape appears to reduce middle-aged men's risk of dying not only from cardiovascular disease, but from cancer and other causes as well.
In fact, Finnish researchers report that poor cardiorespiratory fitness increases the risk of premature death as much as well-known risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes.
Dr. Jari A. Laukkanen of the University of Kuopio and colleagues based the findings on nearly 1,300 men who did not have cardiovascular disease, lung disease or cancer. The men, whose average age was about 52, were followed for an average of more than 10 years.
At the start of the study, the men performed an exercise test on a stationary bicycle and had their maximum oxygen uptake measured. Maximum oxygen uptake, a measure of aerobic "horsepower," reflects the amount of physical activity a person can perform.
Men who could exercise longer and who had greater oxygen uptake were more likely to be alive at the end of the study, the researchers report in the March 26th issue of the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.
Physically unfit men, who had the lowest oxygen uptake, were almost three times more likely to die from any cause, even after the researchers accounted for factors that could have influenced the results, such as age, smoking and alcohol use. The risk of death was similar in men who could only complete a short exercise test.
Even though being physically fit is usually thought to help the heart most of all, the benefits of staying in shape appeared to be wide-ranging. Men with high oxygen uptake and long exercise tests were less likely to die not only from cardiovascular disease, but from all causes, including cancer, according to the study.
While the effects of exercise on cardiovascular health are well known, the link between good physical fitness and a reduced risk of death from other causes is not well understood, the report indicates.
"Poor cardiorespiratory fitness is an important and independent risk factor for premature death, and can be considered to be as important as smoking, hypertension, obesity and diabetes," the authors conclude.
It may be a good idea, Laukkanen's team suggests, to evaluate cardiorespiratory fitness and the risk of premature death by measuring oxygen uptake. The researchers point out that oxygen uptake can be measured in most clinics.
SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine 2001;161:825-831.
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