New Research Reveals Integral Role of Cardio Fitness in Boosting Health and Longevity

A new study from the University of South Australia has found that an increased cardio fitness level can reduce the risk of death from any cause by 11-17%.

The study, which claims to be the first to present the scientific evidence collected so far regarding the possible connection between cardiorespiratory fitness or CRF and health results in adults, used 26 systematic reviews with meta-analysis representing more than 20.9 million observations from 199 unique research groups.

CRF, according to Grant Tomkinson, a senior author and professor at UniSA, is the most important type of fitness for good health. 

CRF is the ability of the circulatory and respiratory systems to supply oxygen during long periods of physical activity such as running, swimming, and cycling. Cardiorespiratory fitness is expressed as the highest rate of oxygen consumed per kilogram of body mass (mL/kg/min). Almost half of CRF variance is due to genetics, with the rest modified through regular physical activity. 

The latest study found that “high levels of cardiorespiratory fitness reduce the risk of dying early from any cause,” said Prof Tomkinson. At the same time, people with low levels of CRF are far more likely to die early or end up developing chronic illnesses in the future.

Chronic health conditions such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, stroke, and arthritis are serious causes of poor health, disability, and premature death. In Australia, chronic health conditions contribute to two-thirds of the burden of disease while being the leading causes of disability and death throughout the United States. 

An important individual and global health concern, chronic conditions are non-communicable diseases that are generally characterized by their long-lasting effects. While not immediately life-threatening, chronic conditions tend to develop gradually and persist throughout a person's life. Those suffering from chronic conditions are often more at risk of getting affected by certain communicable diseases, which can then develop into more serious illnesses.

Many people with chronic conditions do not just have a single, predominant condition either; instead, they have two or more chronic conditions at the same time. As a result, people with multimorbidity often have complex health needs and are reported to have poorer quality of life.

While chronic health conditions are common and costly, many of these chronic diseases are preventable due to being linked to lifestyle choices that can be changed by us. The changes in lifestyle choices, including eating nutritious foods and avoiding tobacco, can help prevent the development of many of these diseases and conditions. 

Even when someone already has these chronic conditions, eating more healthful food and exercising, such as biking, brisk walking, jogging, or swimming, can help manage the illness better.

Published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM), the new study reveals that for every 1-MET (metabolic equivalent of task is the amount of oxygen consumption while at repose) increase in cardiorespiratory fitness, one can reduce their risk of death by 11-17% and the risk of heart disease in particular, by as much as 18%.

A regular aerobic exercise program can achieve a 1-MET increase in CRF for most people. Thus, those who exercise regularly reduce their risk of developing diseases in the future or dying early, while those who avoid exercise may suffer.

Cardiorespiratory Fitness Key to Improving Health

There have been many systematic reviews over the past many decades that have looked into the connection between baseline CRF and adult health results. In fact, research has linked CRF to the incidence of some cancers, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, stroke, and depression. 

However, so far, no study has compiled all the evidence to help identify any important gaps. As such, the research used close to two hundred unique cohort studies to examine and summarize evidence from meta-analyses of these studies.

According to the study, high cardio fitness has been shown to lead to the biggest drop in the risk of mortality due to any causes in comparison to low cardio fitness, with the most effect found in the first occurrence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), such as stroke. The study noted:

“CRF was associated with the largest risk reduction for cardiovascular mortality among those living with cardiovascular disease when comparing high versus low CRF.” 

Higher cardio fitness may even provide a better prognosis in cases of cancer, heart failure, peripheral arterial disease, and chronic kidney disease.

The study, conducted in partnership with researchers from the University of Ottawa, the University of Granada, the University of Northern British Columbia, and the Public Health Agency of Canada, also showed that low CRF is an important risk factor for developing future chronic conditions such as hypertension, stroke, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, depression, and dementia. 

Overall, consistent evidence has been found that shows high CRF is “strongly” connected with a lower risk for different types of mortality and chronic illnesses in both the general population and patients with these conditions. 

According to its lead author, Dr. Justin Lang, an Adjunct Professor at UniSA, the study conveys a strong message for public health: Cardiorespiratory fitness is clearly an important marker of good health status.

“If you are already exercising, this is good news, but if you know you need to up your fitness and movement, then this is a timely reminder.” 

– Dr Lang from the Public Health Agency of Canada

He further stated that moderate physical activity, like a brisk walk for at least 150 minutes a week (or just over 20 minutes a day), can help people make meaningful improvements. Dr Lang added: 

“As they improve their fitness, their risk of death and disease will decline.” 

However, according to him, the responsibility for improvement is not solely an individual's. Rather, it needs to be part of regular health practice to support people in improving their health outcomes.

“Through regular assessment, clinicians and exercise professionals could better identify adults at greater risk of early death and initiate exercise programs aimed at increasing CRF through regular physical activity.”

Given CRF's utility across many health outcomes, this study also aims to promote its use as a valuable risk stratification tool in clinical and public health practice.

Low CRF is actually considered a strong chronic disease risk factor. While not routinely assessed in clinical practice, the inclusion of CRF can bring several benefits. This includes providing additional information beyond traditional risk factors such as blood pressure, cholesterol, and smoking status. 

Then, there's the strong connection of CRF with habitual physical activity, which means cardio fitness can serve as a valuable tool to guide exercise prescription. Moreover, CRF would enhance patient management by improving the classification of those at high risk of adverse outcomes. 

The study identified a lack of female samples as a research gap. However, the benefits of CRF have been found to be similar in males and females; the need for higher-quality studies with larger sample sizes in clinical populations and the association between CRF and breast cancer or mental health outcomes present important areas for future work.

The study's limitations include the quality of its data, which is restricted to the included papers, and the low-to-very-low certainty of the evidence for most outcomes.

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Gaining Greater Insight into Cardio Health

With this latest study finding a strong link between cardiorespiratory fitness and health, there is now even a stronger case for wearables that allow users to check and monitor their health and fitness in real time. 

Technological advancements have really changed the healthcare space, and as a result, they are fast becoming ingrained into our everyday lives. These advances include smart wearables, which are electronic devices worn on the body as accessories, such as smartwatches, rings, sunglasses, gloves, wristbands, fitness trackers, and more.

Among these, smartwatches are seeing the most adoption, and at this point, they have become personalized health clinics. These devices usually come with heart rate monitors and, in some cases, can even detect abnormalities like atrial fibrillation.

All of these wearables contain numerous sophisticated sensors that gather new health insights. While the technology's usage in clinical practice is still in its early phase, the global market for smart wearable devices is projected to grow at a CAGR of 25% to $70 bln by next year. 

A Deloitte Global Survey reveals that over 80% of people are now interested in using wearable technology. This increased interest has been driven by current technology's ability to monitor vital signs such as blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen levels. The technology can also track patient health data such as physical activity, nutrition, and sleep patterns.

While technology has existed for some time, significant technological advancements have brought new capabilities. After the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular, technological innovations and adoption in the healthcare sector have surged. 

In this era of remote and increasingly personalized patient care, wearable technologies have become integral devices in the screening and diagnosis of common cardiovascular diseases and the management of patients having CVD.

They can be particularly beneficial for patients suffering from chronic illnesses as they require real-time monitoring of their bodily functions to receive effective medical attention. Equipped with receptors, these devices detect changes in our bodies to offer real-time updates that help provide timely interventions to patients.

Being lightweight and easy to use, these devices offer the benefit of convenience and portability. These devices also offer improved patient engagement, real-time feedback, and better disease management. Through remote health tracking and real-time insights, these devices help foster personalized care while minimizing the need for physical visits. In the future, they have the potential for personalized medicine and early disease detection. 

However, device accuracy, patient privacy, clinician skepticism, and the absence of standard policies present challenges to the broad acceptance and adoption of smart technologies in professional healthcare settings. 

But as technology continues to develop, especially with advances in sensors and AI, we can see these devices get even more sophisticated, leading to their growing usage for managing chronic conditions.

All these technological advancements in the healthcare space underline the focus on increasing human longevity. Physical activity balanced nutritional intake, and even intermittent fasting, which can be better tracked with smart wearable devices, are some common ways to increase human longevity.

But this is not all; senolytics and senostatics, microbiome optimization, photobiomodulation (PBM), and low-level laser therapy (LLLT) have also emerged as promising approaches to enhance human life span. Several companies are also focusing on game-changing therapies like gene editing, light therapy, and young blood transfusions to improve patient health and longevity.

Click here for the list of top wearable health tracking companies to invest in.

Prominent Companies within the Fitness Industry

Now, let's take a look at some prominent names from the fitness industry;

#1. Fitbit 

Acquired by Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet, in 2021, Fitbit is a pioneer in wearable fitness technology. The company offers fitness trackers and smartwatches that help you track your exercise, activity, sleep, and more through heart rate monitors.

Fitbit devices' Sleep Profile feature provides users with a detailed breakdown of sleep. Fitbit stress alerts, along with Google Pixel Watch's Body Responses, help users manage their stress levels. 

Google is a $2.12 trillion market cap stock trading at $169.95, up 22.4% YTD. It has an EPS (TTM) of 6.52 and a P/E (TTM) of 26.07. The tech giant pays a dividend yield of 0.47%. 

During its recent financials, Alphabet reported a 15% increase in revenue while its net income surged by 57% to $23.66 billion. The company revealed that the board has approved a cash dividend of 20 cents per share with the intention of ” paying quarterly cash dividends in the future.” 

The board has further authorized the repurchase of an additional $70 billion in shares as Alphabet closed the quarter with cash, equivalents, and marketable securities at $108 billion. Amidst all this, it laid off at least 200 employees from its “Core” teams. 

#2. Garmin

The company started by manufacturing GPS navigation devices for automobiles and now develops personal fitness devices such as smartwatches, fitness trackers, cycling power meters, and heart rate monitors. 

For Q1 2024, the company reported revenue of $1.28 bln, up 20% from 1Q23, with the fitness segment accounting for nearly $343 mln, up 40%. Net income, meanwhile, surged 36% from the first quarter of 2023 to $276 mln in 1Q24, while profit margin was up 20% this latest quarter compared to the same quarter last year. 

The Swiss navigation device maker has been seeing strong demand for its products in fitness segments. In Q1, it launched the Forerunner 165 series, the latest in its GPS-running smartwatches featuring personalized adaptive training plans. 

Garmin is a $32.24 billion market cap stock trading at $167.88, up 30.61% YTD. The company has an EPS (TTM) of 7.09 and a P/E (TTM) of 23.69. It pays a dividend yield of 1.74%.

Conclusion

As we saw, higher cardiorespiratory fitness has been shown to lower the risk of premature mortality and chronic conditions and improve prognosis in those with existing chronic conditions. 

Interestingly, a higher level of CRF can be achieved by regular physical activity, which can be better tracked with the latest technological devices like smart wearables. 

This goes on to show that the combination of human efforts and technological advancement will play a huge role in the healthcare sector by reducing mortality risk, improving health, and increasing longevity.

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