Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham found that working on endurance at the age of 18-30 can reduce the risk of future death by 30% or more. Research published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
Previously, the CARDIA study has shown that a person’s maximum cardiorespiratory endurance decreases by 4.6% between the ages of 20-25 and decreases by 10% every 5 years from the age of 30.
In a new study, scientists found that for every 5% of stamina a person can maintain in middle age, they reduce their risk of dying in the future by an average of 11%. The scientists used data from the CARDIA study from more than 5,000 men and women ages 18-30. The study began in 1985-1986, and participants underwent a face-to-face examination every two to five years.
Overall, each minute of higher cardiorespiratory fitness in early adulthood reduced the risk of all-cause death by 27% in women and 13% in men.
The results mean that it is important not only to develop cardiorespiratory endurance in midlife, but also to minimize its youth-onset decline.