Health and Safety Exercise for a Healthy and Longer Life Expectancy By Mark Stibich, PhD Mark Stibich, PhD, FIDSA, is a behavior change expert with experience helping individuals make lasting lifestyle improvements. Learn about our editorial process Mark Stibich, PhD Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Richard Fogoros, MD on November 09, 2015 Richard N. Fogoros, MD, is a retired professor of medicine and board-certified internal medicine physician and cardiologist. He is Verywell's Senior Medical Advisor. Learn about our Review Board Richard Fogoros, MD Updated on February 03, 2020 Print Hero Images/Getty Images Exercise is one of the most important things you can do. Exercise and physical activity not only add years to your total life but increase the number of healthy years. Find out how to get started. Exercise Adds Years to Your Life One study found that the average 65-year-old can expect an additional 12.7 years of healthy life —meaning he will live disability-free until age 77.7. Highly active 65-years-olds, however, have an additional 5.7 years of healthy life expectancy — they will remain disability-free until age 83.4. Without exercise, you increase your risk of a wide assortment of chronic illnesses. However, with exercise you can reduce your risk of chronic disease. Exercise Benefits Here is a list of conditions that physical activity can reduce the risk for (and the number of people who have them):Coronary heart disease (12.6 million)Heart attack (1.1 million)Diabetes (17 million)Hip fracture (300,000)High blood pressure (50 million)Obesity (50 million)Overweight (108 million) Another study found that increasing physical activity after age 50 can add years to one’s life. In the study, individuals with and without cardiovascular disease were compared by the amount of physical activity they did. Men who were moderately active added 1.3 years to their lives and those who were highly active added 3.7 years. Women who were moderately active added 1.1 years and those were highly active added 3.2 years. In addition, people who exercised more also lived more years free of cardiovascular disease. While moderate exercise increases life expectancy, highly active people more than doubled the benefits. Get Started With Exercise Get started exercising by increasing your physical activity every day. Walk more, get up more, and just use your body. Then add in 30-minute periods that you commit to exercise. Do some strength, balance and stretching work. Find a time every day and commit to doing something that's physical. Walking: You'll find everyone recommending walking as the first step to more physical activity. Here's how to get started and how to boost walking into a moderate-intensity physical activity you can enjoy the rest of your life. How to Start Walking 30-Day Quick Start Exercise Guide for Beginners: This balanced exercise program for beginners will have you work on all aspects - cardio, strength, balance, and flexibility. You won't be leaving out any part of a healthy activity and you'll become better at all of them. Bicycling: Riding a bike is a great way to get active and to get around. You can combine a non-impact exercise with going about your daily tasks and getting from one place to another. You might even think about becoming a bike commuter. How to Start Running: If you want to be one of the swift, here's how to get started. Running is a higher impact activity, but if you don't have any problem with your joints, it's an easy way to enjoy moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise. Make Exercise Fun: 10 ways you can have more fun with exercise. A key part of staying motivated to exercise regularly is to find one that you enjoy. Otherwise, it becomes a grind and you will soon find an excuse to stop. If it's fun you'll keep doing it. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Get exercise tips to make your workouts less work and more fun. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Ferrucci L, Izmirlian G, Leveille S, et al. Smoking, physical activity, and active life expectancy. Am J Epidemiol. 1999;149(7):645-53. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a009865 Franco OH, De laet C, Peeters A, Jonker J, Mackenbach J, Nusselder W. Effects of physical activity on life expectancy with cardiovascular disease. Arch Intern Med. 2005;165(20):2355-60. doi:10.1001/archinte.165.20.2355 Additional Reading Center for Disease Control. "Promoting Active Lifestyles Among Older Adults." National Center for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Center for Disease Control. Physical Activity and Health. June 4, 2015. National Center for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Franco OH, de Laet C, Peeters A, Jonker J, Mackenbach J, Nusselder W. Effects of Physical Activity on Life Expectancy With Cardiovascular Disease. Arch Intern Med. 2005 Nov 14;165(20):2355-60.