Total mortality after changes in leisure time physical activity in 50 year old men (2009)

Objective: To examine how change in level of physical activity after middle age influences mortality and to compare it with the effect of smoking cessation.
Design: Population based cohort study with follow-up over 35 years.
Setting: Municipality of Uppsala, Sweden.
Participants 2205 men aged 50 in 1970-3 who were reexamined at ages 60, 70, 77, and 82 years.
Conclusions: Increased physical activity in middle age is eventually followed by a reduction in mortality to the same level as seen among men with constantly high physical activity. This reduction is comparable with that associated with smoking cessation.