Play racket sports such as tennis, badminton and table tennis regularly

People who regularly play tennis, badminton, or table tennis have about half the risk of dying during the same period compared to non-players. Their risk of dying from cardiovascular causes is roughly 56% lower. Swimmers enjoy a similar benefit, with a 28% lower risk. No significant difference was observed between runners and soccer players in this data set.

Cost

The cost of court fees is typically a few dozen yuan per session. This amounts to roughly 2 hours of activity per week. The main challenge is arranging enough participants and securing a court, plus maintaining consistency week after week.

Benefit

A UK-based study tracking 80,300 participants compared those who engaged in racket sports with those who did not. The former group had a 47% lower overall mortality risk (hazard ratio 0.53, 95% CI 0.40–0.69). Their risk of cardiovascular death was 56% lower (0.44, 95% CI 0.24–0.83). Racket sports here include tennis, badminton, and table tennis. For swimmers, these figures were 0.72 and 0.59 respectively; for aerobic exercise enthusiasts they were 0.73 and 0.64, and for cyclists 0.85. No statistically significant differences were found between runners and soccer players.

Notes

This finding remains somewhat controversial. Such studies are purely observational in nature. People who play racket sports tend to be healthier overall and enjoy more social interaction. The lack of difference seen among runners suggests that individual characteristics may play a role in how exercise impacts health outcomes. This does not mean running offers no benefits; a separate entry in this section examines overall exercise volume instead.

Sources · 1

1. Oja P, Kelly P, Pedisic Z, et al. (2017). Associations of specific types of sports and exercise with all-cause and cardiovascular-disease mortality: a cohort study of 80 306 British adults. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 51(10), 812-817. doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2016-096822