Do Muscle-Strengthening Activities Enhance the Mortality Benefit of Aerobic Exercise?

Mortality risks were lowest when ≥2 sessions weekly of muscle-strengthening activity were added.

Evidence suggests that regular moderate-to-vigorous aerobic physical activity lowers risk for premature death and that this risk can be lowered further by adding muscle-strengthening activity, such as lifting weights and doing calisthenics. In this prospective cohort study of a representative sample of 500,000 U.S. adults, researchers examined how these activities (self-reported by participants) were associated with mortality.

 

After median follow-up of 10 years, various combinations of moderate and vigorous aerobic activity (ranging from <75 to="">300 minutes weekly) were associated with lower risks for all-cause death, in a roughly dose-response manner. For most combinations of moderate and vigorous aerobic exercise, adding two or more sessions of muscle-strengthening activity was associated with even lower mortality. Outcomes for cardiovascular-related mortality roughly paralleled all-cause mortality outcomes.

 

COMMENT
Regular moderate and vigorous physical activity are associated with lower premature mortality, and adding at least two muscle-strengthening sessions weekly appears to enhance this benefit.
— Paul S. Mueller, MD, MPH, FACP

Dr. Mueller is Regional Vice President–Southwest Wisconsin at Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse, WI, and Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Ethics at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science in Rochester, MN. López-Bueno R et al. Prospective associations of different combinations of aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity with all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality. JAMA Intern Med 2023 Sep; 183:982. (https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2023.3093)

NON-2023-11019