A new study has reported that older adults who engage in recreational activities during their leisure time for at least five hours a week are less likely to die, especially from heart disease and cancer. The research, conducted by scientists at the National Cancer Institute in Maryland, highlighted that these activities include walking, light jogging, swimming, cycling, racket sports, and golf.
The researchers found that participating in 2.5 to 5 hours of light to moderate activities per week reduces the risk of death by 13%. Racket sports lowered the risk by 16%, while jogging reduced it by 15%. The study's results were published on the JAMA medical journal's website and relied on data from over 272,000 individuals aged between 59 and 82 years.
The findings indicated that those engaging in more than 5 hours of weekly activity experienced a significantly lower mortality risk, while the risk decreased by only 5% for those who participated in these activities for less than 2.5 hours a week.
