Combo of weightlifting, aerobics linked to 47% lower mortality risk

Key takeaways

• Both aerobic exercise and weightlifting were independently associated with a lower all-cause mortality risk in adults.
• A combination of the two appeared to “have an additive mortality benefit,” the researchers wrote.
• Older adults in particular may likely benefit from integrating weightlifting into their routines.

Exercising with weights regularly was associated with a lower risk for mortality from any cause except cancer, according to researchers. They also found that adding aerobic exercise enhances the protective effect.

The study, recently published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, revealed that people who met weekly recommendations for aerobic exercise and lifted weights once or twice a week almost halved their risk for all-cause mortality.

This is not the only study to report that some types of exercise can reduce mortality risk, but researchers said it does help distinguish benefits from engaging in one type of activity alone and combinations.

“Our finding that mortality risk appeared to be lowest for those who participated in both types of exercise provides strong support for current recommendations to engage in both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities,” Jessica Gorzelitz, MS, PhD, an assistant professor at the University of Iowa, and colleagues wrote. “Older adults would probably benefit from adding weightlifting exercises to their physical activity routines.”

For the observational study, Gorzelitz and colleagues analyzed data from 99,713 people aged 55 to 74 years who, after participating in a 1993 National Cancer Institute screening trial, filled out a follow-up survey in 2006 that described their weightlifting habits. The group, which had a mean age of 71 years at follow up, was followed for another 10 years.

The researchers investigated both aerobic exercise — moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) — and weightlifting — muscle strengthening exercise (MSE). They divided participants into four groups, based on their total weekly MVPA minutes:

• inactive (0 minutes);
• insufficient aerobic MVPA (1-149 minutes);
• sufficient (150+ minutes); and
• highly active (301+ minutes).

About a third of participants (32%) were noted to be sufficiently aerobically active. Nearly a quarter of participants (23%) reported some weightlifting activity, while 16% reported regularly exercising with weights between one to six times a week.

Gorzelitz and colleagues found that working out with weights alone was linked to a 9% to 22% lower risk for all-cause mortality, varying based on frequency. It was also associated with a lower risk for CVD-related mortality (HR = 0.91; 95% CI, 0.86-0.97).

Engaging in aerobic physical activity, on the other hand, was associated with a 24% to 34% lower risk for all-cause mortality.

The best outcomes, however, were in those who reported engaging in both types of activity, with a 41% to 47% lower all-cause mortality risk.

“Our study provides support for weightlifting as a health behavior associated with longevity for older adults at varying levels of aerobic MVPA participation,” the researchers wrote. “Importantly, these findings support meeting both the aerobic MVPA and muscle strengthening (including weightlifting) recommendations, especially targeting older adults who do not weightlift but may be currently aerobically active to maximize health and mortality outcomes.”

Although weightlifting and aerobic activities were independently linked to reduced all-cause and CVD mortality risk, Gorzelitz and colleagues wrote that “lower risk was not apparent for cancer mortality.”

The researchers did not assess specific details on weightlifting frequency, duration, intensity, etc. Similarly, factors like race and ethnicity, BMI and education did not affect the findings. However, the researchers noted that the associations were stronger in women.

“There are several potential pathways by which weightlifting could be associated with mortality, including the influence of weightlifting on body composition, leading to more lean mass and thus improved function,” they wrote. “Total lean mass is also independently associated with lower mortality risk. Finally, weightlifting, in particular, could be a socially related behavior in that those who weightlift participate in social networks, assuming that this behavior is done in a gym with others.”

References:

• Gorzelitz J, et al. Br J Sports Med. 2022;doi:10.1136/bjsports-2021-105315.
• Regularly exercising with weights linked to lower risk of death. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/965774. Published Sept. 27, 2022. Accessed Oct. 2, 2022.