alt Hacker NewsMy take is probably too nuanced here, but the reality is that we don't know. People living in areas with longevity (blue zones), didn't really excercise (as in sports) or take multivitamins. For all we know, it might even come out that regular, gym-style excercise is even worse for longevity.
Nordic people tend to live a long life even though they historically didn't have access to fresh vegetables or fruit and brutal winters (and darkness) prohibited excercise.
ps. I'm not arguing that excercise is unhealthy, it's just that its contribution to eventual longevity, is currently unknown. Whereas anectodal evidence of saunas (being around longer than "excercise"), seems to work.
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There is some evidence suggesting that "blue zones" are largely about pension fraud. https://fortune.com/europe/2024/12/14/are-blue-zones-myth-ex...
For all we know, there is a link between cardiac/circulatory problems and arteriosclerosis (that is, loss of elasticity of the vessels).
So it could be that exercise helps keep this elasticity, the same way maybe sauna does? Also antioxidants from vegetables etc.
So it could be that it is a _factor_, but definitely needs way more study.
I am also not in the medical field, but I think arteriosclerosis is a well known link for cardiovascular disease.
> People living in areas with longevity (blue zones), didn't really excercise (as in sports)
Not exercising as in sports and not exercising, period, are very different. If you look at the American blue zone, those people are certainly exercising; daily nature walks are baked into their theology.
Problem is sauna use and genetic factors corrolate too strongly to make any conclusion to the broader population. If you live in/near Finland you likely sauna often, as have all your ancestors for thousands of years. If you don't live there both are false. Thus we can't know if Sauna is helpful for the general population who isn't of a Finish background.
The "blue-zone" studies are flawed, so we shouldn't infer too much from lifestyle generalizations about people in them.
https://www.science.org/content/article/do-blue-zones-suppos...
Saunas have not been around longer than exercise.
> I'm not arguing that excercise is unhealthy, it's just that its contribution to eventual longevity, is currently unknown
I see numerous studies indicating that exercise contributes directly to eventual longevity, e.g.:
https://www.ama-assn.org/public-health/prevention-wellness/m...
https://www.acc.org/latest-in-cardiology/articles/2025/07/02...
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3395188/