Fitness

Pick up a racket if you enjoy it

Tennis, badminton and squash were grouped in this study. Pick a sport you enjoy; this was not a ranking of sports.

Low costMedium effortSource grade A

AN ACTION TO CONSIDER

Make a racket sport you enjoy part of your exercise routine.

UK racket-sport participation was associated with 47% lower mortality risk versus non-participation.

Why consider it?

The cohort compared adults who participated in each sport with those who did not. The relative association does not prove that taking up a racket lowers your risk by that amount. Participants may have been healthier or more socially connected. The result does not mean other exercise is ineffective.

Read the sources

Source grade A is reproduced from the original work. It does not establish suitability for everyone.

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.

Original item: chapter 2, item 14 ↗

Adaptation: Rewritten in English from the locked Chinese original; retained evidence grade and study limits. Effect sizes quoted from the cited source: estimates are kept in their original comparison and population; observational associations are not described as proven personal gains. r3 AI review: Restricted the study category to tennis, badminton and squash; removed table-tennis extrapolation.

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