How likely are you live to 90? Depends on your gender and body size

Health 21:43 22.01.2019

Living to the ripe old age of 90 may depend on your body size -- both height and weight -- as well as your level of physical activity, and seems to influence a woman's lifespan more than it does a man's, according to a new study published Monday in the medical journal BMJ.

The study found women who lived to 90 were, on average, taller and had put on less weight since the age of 20 as compared to women who were shorter and heavier. No such association was seen for men. However, men saw more benefit from physical activity than women.

While the study is observational and cannot establish cause, the findings "provide interesting hints that men's and women's health might respond differently to BMI, height and exercise," said epidemiologist David Carslake, a senior research associate at the University of Bristol in the UK, who was not involved in the study. BMI, which stand for body mass index, is a measurement of body fat based on a calculation of height and weight.

A large, longitudinal study

In 1986 researchers asked over 7,000 Norwegian men and women between age 55 and 69 about their height, current weight, and weight at age 20. Both genders also told researchers about their current physical activity, which included dog walking, gardening, home improvements, walking or biking to work and sports. The men and women were then sorted into daily activity quotas: less than 30 minutes, 30 to 60 minutes, and 90 minutes or more.

The groups were monitored until they died or reached the age of 90; of the 7807 participants, 433 men and 994 women lived to that age. Issues that could affect longevity, such current or past smoking and level of alcohol use, were also taken into account.

Men and women in the study fared very differently when it came to the impact of body size and exercise.

Women who weighed less at age 20 and put on less weight as they aged were more likely to live longer than heavier women. Height played a major factor: the study found women who were taller than 5 feet 9 inches were 31% more likely to live into their 90s than women who were less than 5 feet 3 inches.

Neither height or weight seemed to factor into whether the men reached their 90s, but activity level did. Men who spent 90 minutes a day or more being active were 39% more likely to live to 90 than men who were physically active for less than 30 minutes. In addition, for each 30 minutes a day the men were active, they were 5% more likely to reach that age.

However, women who were physically active for more than 60 minutes a day were only 21% more likely to live to 90 than those who did 30 minutes or less. And unlike men, there was no bonus for increasing activity. In fact, the study found that the optimal level of activity for women was 60 minutes a day.

A slowing of life expectancy

Average life expectancy has been increasing for most of the world, but recent studies show a slowing of that trend in some developed nations. In the US for example, life expectancy has been declining over the last few years. Drug overdoses and suicides are to blame for the most recent decline, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but the major causes of death remain the same. Heart disease, cancer, and stroke, three of the top killers of Americans, are all affected by weight gain and a lack of exercise.

"It is now very clear that overweight, obesity and sedentary lifestyles are harmful to health," Carslake said. "Studies like this one, which examine the shape of the associations, and ask whether they are the same in different groups...will be increasingly important."

 

IEPF issued a statement regarding Azerbaijani children at the UN Human Rights Council

News line

Russia accuses Ukrainian military chief of ordering downing of war prisoner plane
22:10 05.07.2025
Türkiye supports firefighting operations in Syria’s Latakia
22:00 05.07.2025
UNRWA calls for immediate fuel delivery to Israel-blockaded Gaza before shutdown of basic services
21:45 05.07.2025
Pashinyan: Armenia needs new constitution
21:20 05.07.2025
UN chief condemns Russia's recent 'series of large-scale' attacks on Ukraine
21:00 05.07.2025
Kazakh servicemen arrive in Azerbaijan to participate in Tarlan - 2025 exercise
20:45 05.07.2025
Erdogan: US has crucial role in achieving ceasefire in Gaza
20:20 05.07.2025
Building collapse in Pakistan kills 15
19:45 05.07.2025
Turkish FM Fidan to attend 17th BRICS Leaders Summit in Rio de Janeiro
19:30 05.07.2025
Australia pledges $283M for green energy project by explosives maker
19:10 05.07.2025
OPEC+ speeds up oil output hikes, adds 548,000 bpd in August
18:45 05.07.2025
Inter completes signing of Ange-Yoan Bonny from Parma
18:20 05.07.2025
Turkish president sees Zangazur corridor 'as part of the geoeconomic revolution'
18:00 05.07.2025
Turkish president urges Azerbaijan, Russia to show restrain amid tension
17:45 05.07.2025
China says war 'not a solution' to Iranian nuclear issue
17:15 05.07.2025
At least 18 people injured after fire alert on Ryanair plane in Majorca as passengers abandon jet & leap from wing
17:00 05.07.2025
Azerbaijani PM meets with UNESCAP executive secretary
16:45 05.07.2025
Lebanese president affirms coordination with Syria, warns against sectarian tensions
16:15 05.07.2025
21 killed in Israeli strikes on tents, school-turned-shelters in Gaza Strip
16:00 05.07.2025
Turkish construction sector takes on international projects worth $6.2B in first half of 2025
15:45 05.07.2025
Azerbaijani woman wrestler becomes European champion
15:30 05.07.2025
Mayor: Death toll in Russian attacks on Kyiv reached two
15:15 05.07.2025
Texas floods kill 24 people and leave many missing from girls' summer camp
14:45 05.07.2025
Conor McGregor has interest in White House fight after Trump's UFC idea
14:30 05.07.2025
Netanyahu era sees 40% surge in Israeli settlements in occupied West Bank
14:15 05.07.2025
Equatorial Guinea sues France in UN court to block sale of Paris mansion
14:00 05.07.2025
US president 'disappointed' over phone call with Putin
13:45 05.07.2025
Academy of Azerbaijan`s State Security Service hosts graduation ceremony
13:30 05.07.2025
Azerbaijan and Pakistan ink memo in Khankendi
13:15 05.07.2025
Trump says there could be Gaza deal next week
13:00 05.07.2025
First flight from Türkiye to Syria launched
12:45 05.07.2025
US marks its 249th anniversary of independence
12:30 05.07.2025
Azerbaijan's role in regional integration discussed at London conference
12:00 05.07.2025
Uzbek Minister: Mirziyoyev's visit to Azerbaijan crucial for dev’t of transport links
11:45 05.07.2025
Trump says US will start talks with China on TikTok deal this week
11:30 05.07.2025
Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif concludes visit to Azerbaijan
11:15 05.07.2025
Pakistani premier proposes low-emissions corridor at Economic Cooperation Organization summit
11:00 05.07.2025
Rwanda pledges to deliver on its part of US-brokered peace deal with DR Congo
10:45 05.07.2025
Hezbollah rejects calls to disarm before end of Israeli ‘aggression’ against Lebanon
10:30 05.07.2025
Trump says Gaza ceasefire deal may come next week after ‘positive’ Hamas response
10:15 05.07.2025
Hamısı