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The benefits of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) are well established, but the value of starting LTPA later in life is less clear. In this prospective cohort study, U.S. researchers evaluated >300,000 member responses to an AARP survey conducted in 1995 and 1996. Participants were assigned to 10 groups based on age at which exercise was initiated, level of exercise, and lifetime pattern. All-cause and cause-specific (cardiovascular disease-related and cancer-related) mortality were assessed during 26 years after the baseline questionnaire was completed, and data were adjusted for a wide range of variables.
Compared with people who never exercised, those who maintained LTPA throughout life and those who initiated LTPA in midlife (age ran…