The elixir of life or the secret of longevity? Well, it would be the workout, not the diet. Those who train or increase the time dedicated to physical activity give themselves more years of life. This is demonstrated by a meta-analysis, therefore a study that collects various studies, in this case two hundred, published in iScience.

Training is the elixir of life

Exercising works better than dieting in obese individuals, increasing their life expectancy by 30% or more.
Not only that: the curious fact is that, if the obese exercised, their risk of dying prematurely due to excess weight would be lower than a person with a normal weight but sedentary.
So if you have a weight outside the norm, but you train and take care of yourself, you can respond in this way to those who accuse you of having a few extra pounds and having to go on a diet “for your health”.
There are many overweight or obese people who actually train: there are yoga teachers with obesity, obese bodybuilders, obese dancers and dancers.

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And clearly, trying to achieve a better body weight is a good strategy to reduce the risk of premature death: but, compared to exercising, this strategy only improves life expectancy by 16%.
Furthermore, those who choose to go on a diet must do it wisely, in order to maintain the new body weight in the following years. This is because the so-called “yo yo effect”, which consists in regaining weight, then losing it, then regaining it again, on the contrary increases the risk of premature death.

Training works better than staying on a weight loss diet: but a healthy diet is essential

Let’s be clear: going on a weight loss diet and eating healthier are not things that coincide.
Eating a healthy diet is something that beyond any discussion is the advice for living well.
In fact, the study does not say to eat badly, it makes a comparison between “those who eat to lose weight” and those who train. And in this comparison, those who train have a better chance of living a long life.
So the first real thing to do to increase your longevity is to move, and the second is to lose weight as long as you keep the new weight forever. Eating healthy doesn’t necessarily mean losing weight, it means choosing healthier foods regardless of calories and quantities. And this is an essential fact.

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With that distinction made, before anyone thinks the study translates to “you can eat french fries every day, as long as you work out”, let’s see what an active lifestyle is.

How much to train to be longer

The ideal would be to do over 8,000 steps a day or 35-44 minutes of physical activity every day. Those who train hard for more than 10 hours a week risk shortening their life.
In fact, another study revealed that if you train for 40 minutes a day, life expectancy increases on average by 70%.

See also : dance fitness for weight loss – beginners workout
The sedentary diet for successful weight loss.