Net Gain

“Federal guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week, along with two days of muscle-strengthening activities. But the payoff starts much earlier: Even four to five minutes of vigorous physical activity every day has been linked to longevity benefits.” (Whether or not opening 75 news tabs meets this requirement remains an open question among kinesiologists.) But which activities in particular are linked to longevity? Well, consider yourself lucky if tennis is your racket. “One study from Denmark found that tennis players lived almost 10 years longer than their sedentary peers — and longer than soccer players, swimmers and the other recreational athletes included in the analysis. Other research from Britain and the United States followed people for about a decade and found that playing racket sports was linked to a lower risk of death during the follow-up period than any other sport or form of exercise studied. These findings don’t prove that tennis causes people to live longer … Still, experts believe that tennis’s unique blend of physical, cognitive and social challenges contribute to healthy aging.” NYT (Gift Article): The Best Sports for Longevity. (For some reason, I think this is all a backhanded way of implying that pickleball will kill you.)