Research shows a daily dip could lengthen your life
Research shows swimmers live longer than walkers and runners.
Yup, re-read that one again!
Dr. Steven Blair, Dr. Nancy Chase and Dr. Xuemei Sui from the University of South Carolina published an intriguing study that dives into the health benefits of swimming, water jogging, and aqua aerobics, comparing them to the likes of walking, running, and of course, sedentary individuals. The longitudinal study, which analysed data from over 40,000 men aged 20-90 for 32 years (long enough to rack up a few laps in the data pool). The findings reveal that swimmers seem to enjoy a significantly lower risk of death compared to their more sedentary counterparts, walkers, and even runners.
Yup, re-read that one again!
Dr. Steven Blair, Dr. Nancy Chase and Dr. Xuemei Sui from the University of South Carolina published an intriguing study that dives into the health benefits of swimming, water jogging, and aqua aerobics, comparing them to the likes of walking, running, and of course, sedentary individuals. The longitudinal study, which analysed data from over 40,000 men aged 20-90 for 32 years (long enough to rack up a few laps in the data pool). The findings reveal that swimmers seem to enjoy a significantly lower risk of death compared to their more sedentary counterparts, walkers, and even runners.
The study uses Cox proportional-hazards regression to estimate the relative risks according to physical activity exposure categories. After considering factors like age, body mass index, smoking, alcohol use, and family history of heart disease, Dr. Blair and Co found that swimmers had a 53%, 50%, and 49% lower risk of dying from any cause compared to sedentary men, walkers, and runners, respectively (p < 0.05). Even after accounting for existing health conditions, the lower risk for swimmers remained significant. So, in short, swimmers tend to live longer than those who are inactive, walkers, and runners.
So, just in case you needed another reason to hit the pool, this might just be it! The results are encouraging for swimmers and lead researcher Steven Blair, a professor of exercise science at the University of South Carolina. “I was expecting to see swimmers and runners have a lower risk of dying" he says. "I was a little surprised that the swimmers had a statistically significant lower death rate than the runners, but they did." Blair also stated that “there is no compelling reason to assume that the benefits of swimming would be different for women or for men in other socioeconomic groups. In an earlier study in this same population we found that both women and men had similar benefits from swimming in terms of fitness and other health indicators.”
Along with being an affordable workout (cheers, oceans and lakes!) swimming pushes our performance without asking a lot of our joints. With H20 being 830x denser than air, a water-based workout supports your body weight so there is less stress on your joints.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that makes it an easy workout though, it’s this resistance that also makes it so much harder to walk across a pool than walk across a room. The benefits of swimming come from the muscular strength and cardiovascular fitness it takes to power your body through the water, lap after lap.
The proven health benefits swimming offers come without the strain to lower joints that people experience with running and walking. "People who can't walk or run because of physical limitations—arthritis, for instance—can reap all the health benefits of an exercise program by swimming," Blair says.
Being highly aerobic and low impact is a magic combo few other exercises can match, making it an exercise you can do every single day. The water doesn’t care how old you are. Swimming is adaptable and offers options for every physical size, shape and impairment. For those nursing injuries, temporary or permanent, getting in the pool offers exercise with limited chance of further damage or discomfort.
FINIS offers a range of technical equipment that can help make the process easier - like kickboards, pull buoys, paddles, snorkels or fins. It's always a good idea to start slow and to take advantage of aids so you have the best shot at healing and getting back to full strength quicker. Whether it’s for leisure, pleasure or competition, swimming is a great way to improve your health and wellbeing, and FINIS is here to help you dive in!
FINIS offers a range of technical equipment that can help make the process easier - like kickboards, pull buoys, paddles, snorkels or fins. It's always a good idea to start slow and to take advantage of aids so you have the best shot at healing and getting back to full strength quicker. Whether it’s for leisure, pleasure or competition, swimming is a great way to improve your health and wellbeing, and FINIS is here to help you dive in!
Reference:
Chase, N., Sui, X., and Blair, S. (2008) Swimming and All-Cause Mortality Risk Compared With Running, Walking, and Sedentary Habits in Men. International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education: Vol. 2: No. 3, Article 3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.25035/ijare.02.03.03
https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/ijare/vol2/iss3/3/?TB_iframe=true&width=921.6&height=921.6
DOI: https://doi.org/10.25035/ijare.02.03.03
https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/ijare/vol2/iss3/3/?TB_iframe=true&width=921.6&height=921.6