Olympic athletes live longer than the general population , according to two independent studies conducted by the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney (Australia) and the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina (USA).
The researchers compared the longevity of medalists from different countries, different sports disciplines, and the amount of physical contact involved . Considering that their nationality did not make a difference in terms of their longevity, experts believe that athletes have a “survival advantage” due to their physical activity patterns.
In the first study, they examined data from a total of 15,174 Olympians in the period between 1896 and 2010 . On average, these athletes lived 2.8 years longer than the general population with the same age, same sex and same nationality , without finding distinction in whether they had won a gold, silver or bronze medal in their respective Olympics.
Genetics, lifestyle factors, and wealth could be some of the reasons athletes live longer than anyone else.
The second study looked at the longevity of 9,889 Olympic athletes in 43 different disciplines (with different exercise intensity) between 1896 and 1936. Athletes who participated in high-intensity cardiovascular sports had almost identical longevity rates as those who were involved in exercise sports. little cardiovascular demand like golf.
The only substantial difference was that in high-contact sports such as boxing, ice hockey or rugby, athletes had an 11% higher risk of mortality compared to others.
The study was published in the British Medical Journal.
