While it’s probably not news to you that running can boost longevity by improving your heart health, and strength training can do so by preserving muscle mass and metabolic and bone health, BBC news presenter Naga Munchetty’s go-to form of exercise can also add years to your life: golf.
The star has previously revealed she is ‘mad about golf’, while on an episode of Celebrity Mastermind she shared that she plays at least five times a week, explaining that ‘I have very early hours. I finish work at 8, put the waterproofs on and straight out on the course’. She even described playing professionally as her ‘dream job’.
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When asked what she loves about the game so much, she replied: ‘It teaches you not to lose your temper. And it’s a game which you play against the course – so it’s a very mental game, as well as requiring precision and skill. You have to keep practicing; you’re never going to beat golf.’
As for helping you to live a longer, healthier life, one landmark study compared 300,000 golfers with non-golfers and found a 40% lower mortality rate in golfers, which authors noted was equivalent to a five-year increase in life expectancy. This effect was the same across all ages, sex and socioeconomic groups.
They put this down to several factors. Golf provides moderate-intensity aerobic activity (walking 18 holes is the equivalent of 5-7 miles), helping people meet or exceed the national physical activity guidelines, which are a major determinant of mortality risk.
They also cited associations between golf and improvements in many cardiometabolic risk factors, like cholesterol levels, insulin-glucose regulation and body composition – all of which are drivers of chronic disease, such as diabetes.
Other benefits included improved lung function, better balance, muscle function and endurance, and improved mental wellbeing and social interaction. In an interview with The Guardian, Naga said golfing with her husband gives them ‘a few hours together when we’re walking and talking’, helping them to stay connected.
Crucially, the study authors emphasised that golf is played well into older age. It’s one of the few sports that people stick with, and the biggest driver of longevity is consistent activity over decades.
For Naga, golf is both a hobby she enjoys and a performance pursuit. The longevity benefits are a bonus.
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As Women’s Health UK’s fitness director and a qualified Pilates and yoga instructor, Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism. She secured her first role at Look Magazine, where her obsession with fitness began and she launched the magazine’s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!. Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner’s World and Red.Now, she oversees all fitness content across womenshealthmag.com.uk and the print magazine, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as ‘Fit At Any Age’, where we showcase the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise. She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks – all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how.Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram.