Play a racket sport three times weekly for 45 minutes
Regular tennis, badminton or table-tennis players had about half the mortality and 56% less cardiovascular mortality than nonplayers. Swimmers had 28% lower overall mortality. Running and football showed no clear difference in this dataset.
What it takes
Courts cost a few dozen renminbi per session in China. Allow about 2 hours weekly; coordinating people and space and attending regularly are the challenges.
What you may gain
A UK observational study of 80,306 adults compared participants and nonparticipants in each sport. Racket sports—tennis, badminton and table tennis—were associated with 47% lower all-cause mortality (risk ratio 0.53, 95% CI 0.40–0.69) and 56% lower cardiovascular mortality (0.44, 0.24–0.83). Corresponding ratios were 0.72 and 0.59 for swimming, 0.73 and 0.64 for aerobics, and 0.85 for cycling's overall mortality. Running and football showed no statistically clear differences.
Context & considerations
These observational findings are disputed as causal claims. Players may already be healthier and more socially connected. The unclear running result also suggests that who chooses each sport may matter. Do not conclude that running is useless; this chapter separately covers total activity.
Research & references
Oja P, Kelly P, Pedisic Z, et al. (2017). Associations of specific types of sports and exercise with all-cause and cardiovascular-disease mortality: a cohort study of 80 306 British adults. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 51(10), 812-817. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2016-096822