"Tour de France" Endurance Athletes Have HUGE 17% Increase In Average Longevity

[Clyde]

Don't shoot the messenger. I hate cardio too.

Int J Sports Med
2011 Aug;32(8):644-7.

Increased average longevity among the "Tour de France" cyclists​

F Sanchis-Gomar 1, G Olaso-Gonzalez, D Corella, M C Gomez-Cabrera, J Vina
Affiliations expand

• PMID: 21618162
• DOI: 10.1055/s-0031-1271711

Abstract​

It is widely held among the general population and even among health professionals that moderate exercise is a healthy practice but long term high intensity exercise is not. The specific amount of physical activity necessary for good health remains unclear. To date, longevity studies of elite athletes have been relatively sparse and the results are somewhat conflicting. The Tour de France is among the most gruelling sport events in the world, during which highly trained professional cyclists undertake high intensity exercise for a full 3 weeks. Consequently we set out to determine the longevity of the participants in the Tour de France, compared with that of the general population. We studied the longevity of 834 cyclists from France (n=465), Italy (n=196) and Belgium (n=173) who rode the Tour de France between the years 1930 and 1964. Dates of birth and death of the cyclists were obtained on December 31 (st) 2007. We calculated the percentage of survivors for each age and compared them with the values for the pooled general population of France, Italy and Belgium for the appropriate age cohorts. We found a very significant increase in average longevity (17%) of the cyclists when compared with the general population. The age at which 50% of the general population died was 73.5 vs. 81.5 years in Tour de France participants. Our major finding is that repeated very intense exercise prolongs life span in well trained practitioners. Our findings underpin the importance of exercising without the fear that becoming exhausted might be bad for one's health.

Increased average longevity among the "Tour de France" cyclists - PubMed

It is widely held among the general population and even among health professionals that moderate exercise is a healthy practice but long term high intensity exercise is not. The specific amount of physical activity necessary for good health remains unclear. To date, longevity studies of elite...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[LLight]

Not sure this data show what they say.
If you have bad health, you won't become a cyclist so the population they compare are not comparable.

 

[Jayvee]

"Compared with the general population"

If it was compared against those who are active but not endurance (only) then I think this would be 'anti-peat'. Comparing to general population is to vague in my opinion.

 

[-Luke-]

Not sure this data show what they say.
If you have bad health, you won't become a cyclist so the population they compare are not comparable.

Good point. The study may have used completely accurate data, but natural selection took place before those guys even entered the Tour de France. With the cycling conditions back in the day, the cyclists back then almost look like super humans today.

"Our major finding is that repeated very intense exercise prolongs life span in well trained practitioners."

That may be true, but it doesn't have to be true. Just because the athletes lived longer doesn't mean that the cycling was the reason for their longevity. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Who knows.

 

[ATCP]

Could be all the doping extending their life too

 

[ecstatichamster]

It could be that people who participate are what I would call gifted physically.

 

[lamassu]

healthy user bias?

 

[David PS]

Exercise may not be the key to living longer — it might even be aging you faster

Survival of the fittest? Or was that the fattest.

nypost.com