Long-term health benefits of physical activity – a systematic review of longitudinal studies

• Published in: BMC public health Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 813
• Main Authors: Reiner, Miriam, Niermann, Christina, Jekauc, Darko, Woll, Alexander
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 08.09.2013; BioMed Central
• Subjects: Activities of daily living; Adolescent; Adult; Adults; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alzheimer's disease; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases - mortality; Cardiovascular Diseases - prevention & control; Coronary heart disease; Cross-sectional studies; Dementia; Dementia - mortality; Dementia - prevention & control; Dementia disorders; Development and progression; Diabetes; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - mortality; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - prevention & control; Eating behavior; Epidemiology; Exercise; Female; Health aspects; Health Promotion; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Medical care, Cost of; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Middle Aged; Motor Activity; Obesity; Obesity - prevention & control; Physical fitness; Population; Prevention; Primary Prevention - methods; Prognosis; Public Health; Sport science; Survival Analysis; Time Factors; Type 2 diabetes; Young Adult; Germany
• ISSN: 1471-2458; 1471-2458
• DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-13-813

The treatment of noncommunicable diseases (NCD), like coronary heart disease or type 2 diabetes mellitus, causes rising costs for the health system. Physical activity is supposed to reduce the risk for these diseases. Results of cross-sectional studies showed that physical activity is associated with better health, and that physical activity could prevent the development of these diseases. The purpose of this review is to summarize existing evidence for the long-term (>5 years) relationship between physical activity and weight gain, obesity, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Fifteen longitudinal studies with at least 5-year follow up times and a total of 288,724 subjects (>500 participants in each study), aged between 18 and 85 years, were identified using digital databases. Only studies published in English, about healthy adults at baseline, intentional physical activity and the listed NCDs were included. The results of these studies show that physical activity appears to have a positive long-term influence on all selected diseases. This review revealed a paucity of long-term studies on the relationship between physical activity and the incidence of NCD.