is intense physical activity associated with longevity ?
['We found a very significant increase in average longevity (17%) of the cyclists when compared with the general population. The age at which 50% of the general population died was 73.5 vs. 81.5 years in Tour de France participants. Our major finding is that repeated very intense exercise prolongs life span in well trained practitioners.', 'Competitive exercise does not induce cardiac damage in individuals with healthy hearts, but does induce physiological functional and structural cardiac adaptations which have positive effects on life expectancy.', 'Medallists lived an average of 2.8 years longer than controls. Medallists in eight of the nine country groups had a significant survival advantage compared with controls. Gold, silver, and bronze medallists each enjoyed similar sized survival advantages. Medallists in endurance sports and mixed sports had a larger survival advantage over controls at 30 years (1.13, 1.09 to 1.17; 1.11, 1.09 to 1.13) than that of medallists in power sports (1.05, 1.01 to 1.08). CONCLUSIONS: Olympic medallists live longer than the general population, irrespective of country, medal, or sport. This study was not designed to explain this effect, but possible explanations include genetic factors, physical activity, healthy lifestyle, and the wealth and status that come with international sporting glory.', 'Long-term endurance training induces in elderly subjects an increased HRV and a higher exercise working capacity, which are well-established predictors of cardiovascular and overall mortality.', 'Sports activity in adolescents and young adults was associated with an increased risk of SD, both in males and females. Sports, per se, was not a cause of the enhanced mortality, but it triggered SD in those athletes who were affected by cardiovascular conditions predisposing to life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias during physical exercise.']
['Several survival studies showed that professional athletes has higher longevity than general population. These epidemiological data matches the evidences that long-term endurance training induces in elderly subjects an increased HRV and a higher exercise working capacity, which are well-established predictors of cardiovascular and overall mortality, and also telomere length.']
['yes']