Physical inactivity is documented as a major public health problem, and inactive and unfit persons are more likely to develop chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and other ailments; lose function with age and thereby lose their independence; and die prematurely. Most of the evidence on physical activity and health is from experimental studies of aerobic exercise, typically running; and epidemiological studies of self-reported physical activity habits or measured physical fitness. Evidence from the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study (ACLS) indicates that individuals who report swimming for exercise have baseline risk factor profiles similar to runners, and better profiles than those who are sedentary. Recent analyses in the ACLS have addressed mortality rates in sedentary individuals, walkers, swimmers, and runners. More than 40,000 men in the ACLS completed an extensive medical examination, including a self-report of their physical activity habits, and were then followed for several years for mortality. Preliminary analyses show that mortality rates in swimmers were less than one half those observed in sedentary men (p<0.01). Future analyses will evaluate mortality rates in walkers and runners. We conclude that men who swim for exercise have better survival rates than their sedentary peers. Steven Blair is a Fellow in the American College of Epidemiology, Society for Behavioral Medicine, American College of Sports Medicine, American Heart Association, and American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education; and was elected to membership in the American Epidemiological Society. He was the first president of the National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity, and is a past-president of the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education. Dr. Blair is the recipient of three honorary doctoral degrees--Doctor Honoris Causa degree from the Free University of Brussels, Belgium; Doctor of Health Science degree from Lander University, U.S.; and Doctor of Science Honoris Causa, University of Bristol, UK. He has received awards from many professional associations, including a prestigious MERIT Award from the National Institutes of Health, Honor Award from the American College of Sports Medicine, and is one of the few individuals outside the U.S. Public Health Service to be awarded the Surgeon General’s Medallion. He has delivered lectures to medical, scientific, and lay groups in 48 states and 30 countries. His research focuses on the associations between lifestyle and health, with a specific emphasis on exercise, physical fitness, body composition, and chronic disease. He has published over 400 papers and chapters in the scientific literature, and was the Senior Scientific Editor for the U.S. Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity and Health. Blair received his B.S. from Kansas Wesleyan University and his M.S. and P.E.D. degrees from Indiana University. He was a Post-Doctoral Scholar at Stanford University School of Medicine.
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