A Finnish study has found that adults who maintain regular physical activity throughout their lives have a significantly lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome at age 61 compared to those who are less active. The research, conducted as part of the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development at the University of Jyväskylä, followed participants for over five decades.
Researchers tracked the leisure-time physical activity of 159 individuals at ages 27, 42, 50, and 61. They also measured various aspects of cardiometabolic health—including waist circumference, blood pressure, glucose metabolism, and blood lipid levels—at age 61 to determine the presence of metabolic syndrome.
Participants were grouped into three categories based on their activity patterns: consistently active (exercising several times a week from early adulthood), increasingly active (reaching higher activity levels in midlife), and consistently inactive (exercising no more than once a week). Those who remained inactive had nearly four times the risk of developing metabolic syndrome by late adulthood compared to those who stayed active. Individuals who increased their activity during midlife had about twice the risk. However, these differences became less pronounced when researchers considered current types and frequency of physical activity at age 61.
Long-term physical activity was linked with smaller waist circumference and healthier blood lipid profiles. These benefits also diminished after accounting for current exercise habits. Participants engaging in muscle-strengthening exercises or active commuting showed higher levels of beneficial HDL cholesterol; those regularly doing muscle-strengthening activities also tended to have smaller waists.
Eero Haapala, University Lecturer at the University of Jyväskylä and Adjunct Professor in the Institute of Biomedicine at the University of Eastern Finland, stated: "The health benefits of physical activity are not limited to a single life stage. It is important to encourage individuals to stay active, but equally important to communicate that it is never too late to start."
The study used data from both JYLS and its latest phase TRAILS. The most recent data collection involved 206 women and men between 2020-2021; this analysis focused on a subset who completed health examinations. Physical activity was assessed through questionnaires at multiple ages, while components such as cholesterol levels and blood pressure were measured during clinical exams. Medication use was factored into results. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed if participants exceeded clinical thresholds for three or more measured factors.
Funding for this long-term research came from the Research Council of Finland with additional support from the Juho Vainio Foundation.
