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          Physical Activity and All Cause 
                           Mortality
     The relationship between physical activity/fitness 
                      and the risk of dying 
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                Sport and Exercise Science
   As Sport and Exercise Scientists we try to understand what 
    limits human performance and how exercise can improve 
                               health
    Some of the work that was performed in the 60s, 70s and 
     80s helped us understand the relation between physical 
      activity and health and informed the physical activity 
                             guidelines
           We will now look at some of this early work
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                 PA and All Cause Mortality 
     • All cause mortality relates to death from any cause 
         – cancer, heart disease, viruses, accidents, etc.
     • We will not be examining why fit/active people live 
        longer only establishing whether or not they do
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                  Harvard Alumni Health Study
     •  In 1986 a study was published by a group of researcher in the United States 
        of America, they recruited 16936 men, all Harvard alumni, aged between 35 
        and 74 years
     •  Baseline data were collected in 1962 or 1966 and followed up in 1978 (12 – 
        16 year later) at which point 1413 men had died
     •  They also collected data on how much activity the men had done in a typical 
        week
     •  There was an inverse dose-response relationship between PA and risk of 
        dying
         – See next slide 
     •  These finding have been supported by numerous other studies
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                                       Paffenbarger et al. (1986)
                           1      1
                         0.9
                         0.8             0.78
                                                  0.73
                        h0.7
                        t                                  0.63      0.62                       0.62
                        a
                        e0.6                                                  0.52
                        D
                                                                                       0.46
                        f0.5
                        o
                         
                        k0.4
                        s
                        i
                        R0.3
                         0.2
                         0.1
                           0
                                                Physical Activity Index (kcal.wk-1)
          Men who burnt 3000-3499 kcal per week in physical activity were 46% (less 
           than half) as likely to have died during the 12 – 16 years of follow up when 
                             compered to the men who burnt less that 500 kcal