SCIENCE

Playing tennis will give you an advantage in life, study shows racquet sports provide protection against early death but running does not, new research suggests

By Sarah Knapton, Science Editor

PLAYING racquet sports regularly could help stave off death, but football, rugby and running may not help people to live longer, a study suggests.

Sport is known to be beneficial to health, helping keep weight down, lowering blood pressure and improving heart and lung function, but it was unclear which activities were the most beneficial in the long term.

A study by Oxford University, and researchers in Finland and Australia, followed more than 80,000 people for an average of nine years to find out if certain sports protected them against early death.

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Risk of dying from any cause over nine years if you play racquet sports

It found that people who played racquet sports regularly were the least likely to die over the study period, reducing their individual risk by 47 per cent compared with people who did no exercise. Swimmers reduced their chance of death by 28 per cent and cyclists by 15 per cent.

Yet running appeared to have no impact on dying early, and neither did playing football or rugby.

The scientists say the difference may lie in the social aspect of sports like tennis and squash, which often involve clubs and organised activities outside of the game. It means that people playing these sports can have larger social networks and tend to keep up activities into later life, both of which are proven to be good for health.

In contrast, people who play team sports when younger often do not move on to a new sport once their teams disband because of injury or for family reasons. They become spectators rather than participants in their chosen activity.

Dr Charlie Foster, associate professor of Physical Activity and Population Health at Oxford, said: “Racquet sports not only offer the usual physiological benefits but also offer additional mental health and social benefits perhaps unique to these sports.”

As well as the benefits to overall mortality, the researchers found that playing racquet sports, swimming and taking part in activities like aerobics, dance or gymnastics lowered the risk of death from heart disease or stroke.

The research, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, analysed information from 11 annual health surveys for England and Scotland, carried out between 1994 and 2008.