I encourage you to take a look at this CNN article for more details on the study. Smoking is no longer the only thing to be concerned about in our modern world when it comes to ill health. Daily exercise keeps the blood moving, which means nutrients are better dispersed to and waste are better removed from all the cells in the body. It has been my personal discovery by sheer observation that those who have committed to a lifestyle of moderately rigorous exercise (and usually coupled with an overall positive attitude) age much more slowly and gracefully in appearance (yes I noticed less wrinkles) and physically in how they walk and stand, in that there is more balance and strength, and less shaking and fragility. These individuals were of different ethnicities as well.

But, I encourage you to do a mix of strength training and cardio. I love cardio, but the strengthening has become more important for me as I have gotten older, to project my joints and ligaments and prevent injury, as well as to provide more energy. I have encountered injuries and joint pain that prevented me from being active. This went on for far too long. So I engaged in physical therapy, altered my diet and included a daily cup of bone broth, used herbs for ligament laxity (a great and less expensive alternative to prolotherapy and PRP), used knee and ankle braces to keep me going, and started to moderate the physical activities that I love but irritated my joints, so that I could still do them overtime versus stopping altogether (instead of every day, I’d do them once or twice a week, and then do other types of exercise on other days). It has made me glad to get back to doing the things I love, and perform at the higher level that my body really benefits from.