Exercise and Longevity
A suprisingly sensible article on the benefits of regular exercise from the LA Times: "You may have heard the advice 'If you exercise, you'll live longer.' The good news - or the bad news, if you hate doing anything more active than downloading iTunes - is that it's true. Research backs this up. ... Most of the negative changes to our bodies over time can be chalked up to two things: normal aging and disease-related aging (that is, changes accelerated by illnesses and conditions such as diabetes and heart disease). Exercise [can] reduce the severity of both types. ... The research leaves no doubt that activity isn't just meant for the younger years. ... Human beings were active animals on the grassy savannas of Africa with high levels of energy expenditure. That's the kind of critter we are. But we're at the point now where we've engineered energy expenditure out of our lives, and that isn't good for us. ... Studies linking exercise to living longer sometimes leave off the important message that being physically active improves the quality of life as well."
Link: http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-exercise13-2009jul13,0,6577878.story