Brisk Walks May Cut Risk of Early Death Among Twins, Study Finds

Taking brisk, half-hour walks just six times a month appeared to cut the risk of premature death by 44% among twins in a study researchers say is the first to separate the influences of heredity and exercise on longevity.

The study tracked almost 16,000 healthy men and women in a national registry of twins in Finland for an average of 19 years. The authors, led by Dr. Urho M. Kujala of the University of Helsinki, reported their findings in today’s issue of the Journal of the American Medical Assn.

The researchers found that even occasional exercisers--those who did less than the equivalent of six brisk, half-hour walks a month--were 30% less likely to die than their sedentary twins.

Vigorous exercisers--those who did at least the equivalent of six brisk walks or jogs lasting 30 minutes each month--were 44% less likely to die.

The researchers took into account differences in smoking habits.

The study found 434 sets of twins in which one sibling had died of natural causes and the other had survived. In 173 of those, the twins had exercised at different levels.