Golfers Gain From 40% Cut in Death Rate, Study Finds (Update2)
 

Golfers Gain From 40% Cut in Death Rate, Study Finds (Update2)

May 30 (Bloomberg) -- The death rate for golfers is 40 percent lower than for other people of the same sex, age and socioeconomic status, a study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports found.

This equates to a five-year increase in life expectancy, scientists led by Anders Ahlbom and Bahman Farahmand at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm said. Golfers with a low handicap -- a measure of a player's ability -- are the best protected, they said.

Exercise is known to promote health even though the exact benefits of particular activities are still largely unknown, the researchers said. Golf, a sport involving low-intensity exercise, is practiced by about 60 million people worldwide, according to the European Institute of Golf Course Architects.

``A round of golf means being outside for 4 or 5 hours, walking at a fast pace for 6 to 7 kilometers (3.7 to 4.4 miles), something which is known to be good for health,'' Ahlbom said in an e-mailed statement. ``People play golf into old age, and there are also positive social and psychological aspects to the game that can be of help.''

The study was based on data from 300,000 Swedish golfers. Other factors, such as a generally healthy lifestyle, may help explain the lower death rate seen among golfers, the scientists said. It is still likely that playing the game has a significant impact in itself on health, Ahlbom and Farahmand said.

Blue-Collar Professions

``Maintaining a low handicap involves playing a lot, so this supports the idea that it is largely the game itself that is good for the health,'' Ahlbom said.

The effect on the death rate was greater for golfers from so-called blue-collar professions than for those from white- collar professions, the researchers said. The lowest rates of mortality were found in the group of players with the lowest handicap.

Handicaps are a way of measuring a player's skill that allows people of different abilities to compete on close to equal terms. The way they're calculated varies by country. The best golfers have the lowest handicaps.

There is limited research on the effects of other types of sports on life expectancy, Ahlbom said.

More evidence of the health benefits of outdoor pursuits came from a 2000 study carried out at the University of Copenhagen, which found that cycling to work decreased the risk of death by 39 percent, even including accident risk and after adjustment for other risk factors such as leisure time physical activity.

The Danish researchers looked at the health of 13,375 women and 17,265 men between 20 to 93 years old during a 14-year period. Of the total, 15,000 cycled regularly, including 7,000 who cycled to work.

To contact the reporter on this story: Carey Sargent in Geneva at [email protected]



Golf more.......:thumbsup

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Is it cause or effect? I wonder if people who golf have personalities that are less conducive to stress-related deaths or if it's actually the exercise. Everyone I know that golfs regularly has the same type of easy going personality.

well said Mr Costa Rica. i shot 81 today, and played 30 holes this afternoon evening and i am back to a 12.6 Handicap

Nice....played only 18 but in the nice clean Costa Rican air :)

For no real reason, i thought i would post some tits in this thread...lol


http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f3.../GiantTits.jpg

not sure those are called tits, but i am not sure what you call them either

Damn those tits are massive

Could it also be that golfers have more money?

FORE! :1orglaugh

This Mexican needs to learn how to golf...

holyshit, those tits are massive
who are they ?

well I would believe this since there are several members at the club that look like they died 10 years ago and they still play, BUT last year on the 12th hole I had a six foot putt for eagle. Was kicking ass too. I hit the putt and the mother fucker lips out I go to tap in the birdie while being all pissed off and I stub the ground causing myself to miss the putt. I was so pissed I wanted to kill someone, 15 minutes later on the 13th green I was walking to my ball when the whole right side of my body goes numb. My face to my toes. I fell to the green waiting to die LOL, doctor tells me it was stress and says golf will kill me in 5 years if I keep missing putts like that haha.
What did I learn? I learned that easy ass putt will not break so next time I will make it or die trying

Golf is one of the most humbling sports i have ever played....want to break things sometimes...but like Phil Mickelson said in that commercial of his, "when you want to break something....think about breaking par"...lol

I also hate it when the shot off the tee goes way right or putt lips out and one of your friends looks at you and says "thats golf"....lol

i think of course its different with each person, but the fresh air, walking is good for mind and soul......

more boobs....

http://i1.iofferphoto.com/img/item/349/030/81/eden3.jpg

I play once a week, mostly would be a friday or saturday morning. I also hit the driving range 1-2 nights a week as well.

For me it's a fun and relaxing way to exercise, stretch, focus and hang out with a couple of friends or meet new golfers.

I am not playing this weekend as it's raining today and most probably tomorrow as well but will catch up next week for sure.

I love golf, it's a game I hope to play for a very long time :thumbsup

I walked a course with a friend of mine,who is a golfer.Its a bitch especially with carrying clubs.

Have you ever had a tee-time earlier than 10AM? It is proof that people who play golf live 40% longer.. Everyone teeing off is 70+.

You sleep better after a round too..

lollllllllllllllllllll

Just got done playing here. Wow did I suck lol. I can't hit a wedge for shit.

I love golf... not much time to play lately but I love it.