Overview

• The July 2025 meta-analysis reviewed 85 studies covering 7 million adults and found that regular exercise reduces the risk of premature death by roughly 30–40 percent
• Adults who maintained consistent activity across adulthood were about 40 percent less likely to die from cardiovascular disease and 25 percent less likely to die from cancer than inactive peers
• Individuals who began exercising later in life lowered their risk of early death by about 22 percent, with older starters gaining an additional 10–15 percent reduction
• Mortality benefits mostly accrue by meeting the WHO’s recommendation of 150–300 minutes of moderate or 75–150 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity per week, with extra exercise yielding diminishing returns
• Participants who stopped exercising lost their earlier gains, returning to a mortality risk similar to those who had remained inactive