Research Brief
Light-Intensity Physical Activity and Life Expectancy: National Health and Nutrition Survey

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2021.02.012Get rights and content

Introduction

Quantifying the years of life gained associated with light-intensity physical activity may be important for risk communication in public health. Because no studies have examined the role of light-intensity physical activity in life expectancy, this study aims to quantify the years of life gained from light-intensity physical activity in a population-based U.S. sample.

Methods

This study used data from 6,636 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2003–2006). Analyses were conducted in 2020. Light-intensity physical activity was categorized into low, medium, and high on the basis of tertiles, and survival models were applied to estimate the years of life gained from each light-intensity physical activity group. Analyses were repeated in participants with moderate-to-vigorous physical activity above or below the median.

Results

During a mean follow-up of 11 years and at 55,520 person-years, 994 deaths were recorded. At age 20 years, participants with low, medium, and high light-intensity physical activity had a predicted life expectancy of 53.92 (95% CI=46.66, 61.18), 58.16 (95% CI=52.10, 65.22), and 58.44 (95% CI=51.29, 65.60) years, suggesting significant years of life gained from medium and high levels of light-intensity physical activity of 2.89 (95% CI=0.90, 4.12) and 3.07 (95% CI=0.84, 5.30) years. The corresponding years of life gained at age 45 years and 65 years were 2.51 (95% CI=0.40, 5.47) and 1.52 (95% CI=0.54, 2.50) years for the medium light-intensity physical activity group and 2.66 (95% CI=0.80, 4.52) and 1.62 (95% CI=0.49, 52.75) years for the high light-intensity physical activity group. This association was significant in participants with moderate-to-vigorous physical activity below the median but not for those with moderate-to-vigorous physical activity above the median.

Conclusions

Light-intensity physical activity may extend life expectancy. Given the low prevalence of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in populations, physical activity promotion efforts may capitalize on emerging evidence on light-intensity physical activity, particularly among the most inactive groups.

Section snippets

INTRODUCTION

Levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) are low despite numerous benefits, including increased life expectancy.1 To date, physical activity (PA) guidelines have focused primarily on MVPA.2 Recent evidence suggests that light-intensity PA (LPA), defined as activities of 1.5–3 METs, may also offer health benefits,3,4 particularly among people with low levels of MVPA.5 Evidence on LPA and mortality has been identified as a major future research need.2 Quantifying the years of life

METHODS

This prospective analysis used data from the 2003–2004 and 2005–2006 waves of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).6 Data were linked to death records from the National Death Index through December 31, 2015. Participants were aged ≥18 years with at least 1 valid day (>10 hours per day of wear time) of accelerometry data (n=8,410). Sensitivity analyses were conducted on the basis of participants with ≥4 valid days of data.7 Considering that those with occult disease were

RESULTS

Mean wear time was 865 minutes per day (251 minutes was for LPA). Those who had low LPA were older, and the majority were male, White, university graduates, and not married and had more medical conditions (Table 1).

During a mean follow-up of 11 years and at 55,520 person-years (n=6,636), 994 deaths were recorded. Compared with the low LPA group, participants in the medium and high LPA groups had a lower risk of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio=0.66, 95% CI=0.54, 0.80 and hazard ratio=0.64, 95%

DISCUSSION

This is the first study to estimate the YLG from accelerometer-derived LPA. Consistent with previous studies,3,4 these findings suggest that LPA could add years to life, particularly among those with low MVPA.

A recent meta-analysis reported moderately consistent evidence for the protective effects of LPA on cardiometabolic health while indicating an inverse association between LPA and all-cause mortality.3 Several studies of varied quality11 have examined the associations between LPA and

CONCLUSIONS

Compared with MVPA, LPA is mostly incidental in nature without requirements for equipment, facilities, or high levels of fitness, skills, or motivation and therefore may be more feasible and accessible to the broader population.3 Facilitating LPA through public health programs and policy interventions could be considered a viable and complementary strategy to promoting MVPA.20 Promoting LPA may be particularly relevant for people unable to meet the current public health recommendations.21,22

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The research presented in this paper is that of the authors.

BdPC had the original idea, conceptualized the project, conducted the analysis, and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. DD conceptualized the project, helped in drafting the manuscript, and critically reviewed the paper. SJHB and PAG provided relevant input and critically reviewed the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the paper.

No financial disclosures were reported by the authors of this paper.

REFERENCES (22)

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