You Should Read This

RVAtennisaddict

Professional
know it is the wrong forum, but don't feel like the other forums get read as much and this one is too good to pass up

Recent study out of England:
Swimming, racquet sports and aerobics are associated with the best odds of staving off death, and in particular of reducing the risk of dying from heart disease or stroke, scientists said on Tuesday.

In a study of various types of exercise and their risk levels, the researchers found that participation in specific sports showed significant benefits for public health, and urged doctors and policymakers to encourage people to take them up.

While the research, published in the British Journal and Sports Medicine, showed no added advantage for people who favor running and football or rugby, independent experts said this was purely due to the design of the study.

"This study must not be misinterpreted as showing that running and football do not protect against heart disease," said Tim Chico, a consultant cardiologist at professor at Britain's Sheffield University who was asked to comment on the findings.

The study analysed data from 11 annual health surveys for England and Scotland carried out between 1994 and 2008, covering 80,306 adults with an average age of 52.

Participants were asked about what type and how much exercise they had done in the preceding four weeks, and whether it had been enough to make them breathless and sweaty.

Exercise included heavy domestic chores and gardening; walking; cycling; swimming; aerobics, gymnastics or dance; running; football or rugby; and badminton, tennis or squash.

The survival of each participant was tracked for an average of nine years, during which time 8,790 of them died from all causes and 1,909 from heart disease or stroke.

Overall, compared with respondents who had not done a given sport, risk of death during the follow up period from any cause was 47 percent lower among those who played racquet sports, 28 percent lower among swimmers, 27 percent lower among dance aerobics fans and 15 percent lower among cyclists.

In death from heart disease and stroke, the study found racquet sports players had a 56 percent lower risk, with 41 percent for swimming and 36 percent for aerobics, compared with those who did not participate in these sports.


*Finally, I have proof for my wife that I need to play tennis... though she may kill me..
** Now I need study that buying new tennis gear also improves health!
 
Retrospective survey studies such as this one are generally not considered acceptable science. These studies fail to control adequately for other lifestyle factors associated with better health (such as diet, presence of preclinical conditions that might make less active people less likely to take up physical sports, better health care, socioeconomic differences that make people active in leisure sports more likely to come from better situations and less likely for example to be alcoholics, the list goes on.....). When properly controlled studies have been done, and these have appeared in the cardiology literature for decades, what's been found is that you get the same cardiac survival benefit from 20 minutes of brisk walking three times a week as you do from participating in sports.
 
I read this along with the 117 yr old woman from Italy who apparently didn't eat much fruit or veg.

Both articles did make me feel better about my lifestyle.
 
Had a chance to look at the actual study report, seems a little muddled; the authors, for example, note that in their adjusted data runners did not have reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, whereas in several other published studies they had benefit. Likewise in their own data, other aerobic sports seemed to produce benefit but not aerobic running. The study did look at alcohol consumption as a correlated but did not look at diet. Not very useful science.
 
lol what a junk study. More likely, relatively healthy adults with money and free time (for tennis) tend to live longer than impoverished sick people.
 
Do people really stick with tennis because of its health benefits? It is more about the satisfaction from hitting shots, playing games, and socializing, which becomes addictive.

As ollinger said, just plain walking and stretching are enough, as my 82 year old father has done for decades now. Along with moderated eating.
 
You guys are silly, of course there are many variables that go into health and fitness. And tbh, it would be impossible to prove beyond a doubt that one exercise is better than another even in double blinded randomized controlled trials because there are just to many variables.

the point of this was in jest, to justify my tennis addiction (especially to my wife)
 
Really need a study proving that 20yo hot somethings are much happier and healthier if they sleep with married middle aged men to have any affect..
Hot 20 somethings are happy because they are hot 20 somethings.

As it relates to married middle aged men, it all depends on how rich the guy(s) is and how much they can blackmail out of them.
 
I can text and play tennis.
I am ordering a steak and cheese sub delivered to the court.

I use to smoke a cigar and play tennis but I burned a hole right throu my strings.
And lit my balls on fire...

Also tennis did not help this couple stuck under this truck...
truck-on-tennis-court.jpg





20160256cc456250a2f.jpg
 
Consider also injuries that can happen with racquet sports and can then make you less active, than a more non-impact activity such as swimming.
 
Do people really stick with tennis because of its health benefits? It is more about the satisfaction from hitting shots, playing games, and socializing, which becomes addictive.

As ollinger said, just plain walking and stretching are enough, as my 82 year old father has done for decades now. Along with moderated eating.
You clearly have outdone him. He must be proud.
 
You guys are tough. I just was posting an article on a decent retrospective study that showed the sport I am addicted too/love has more potential health benefits that other sports. I thought it was a little funny and maybe gave me fodder to talk my wife into letting me play more.

This study looked at walking, running, people who didn't exercise - but did household chores, and various other sports. While it is not a randomized prospective double blind trial (impossible to blind any trial looking at this stuff) and while there are many other factors that affect ones life span- in this particular study (which based on the random sampling of a large population in England - and therefore "adjusts for those confounding variables" and is matched against controls) racket sports were associated with longer lifespan... than walking, swimming, yoga, etc.

There have been many studies recently that suggest activities which involve balance help patients maintain a better long term quality of life.

It is highly probable that tennis which involves intervals (quick bursts of activity and time to recover), balance, hand eye co-ordination, etc may have more potential benefit from a general health consideration than other sports. I have heard many professional athletes of other sports say that tennis/racket sports may be the best athletes in the world because it takes - speed, endurance, hand-eye co-ordination, recovery, balance, etc.. etc.. etc..

And really as I type this, I wonder why I am. It was meant to be a fun thread...
 
You are a married middle aged men who is wishing to sleep with hot 20 somethings, aren't you?

I have a high level of confidence that remaining faithful and happily married will extend my lifespan; however, trying to sleep with hot 20 somethings will definitely shorten it. My wife:

amywplaque.png


That plaque is for putting every shot in a 6" circle in a match at 300 yards under very difficult conditions. She also recently tied an NRA record with a perfect score 200-20x by putting every shot in a 1" circle under better conditions at 100 yards.
 
I have a high level of confidence that remaining faithful and happily married will extend my lifespan; however, trying to sleep with hot 20 somethings will definitely shorten it. My wife:

amywplaque.png


That plaque is for putting every shot in a 6" circle in a match at 300 yards under very difficult conditions. She also recently tied an NRA record with a perfect score 200-20x by putting every shot in a 1" circle under better conditions at 100 yards.

My wife:

nRTxNuWo_400x400.jpg
 
Back
Top