Olympic champion live longer

13 December 2012--we see the Olympic Games with awe and marvel at the sportsmen of strength and grace.

But really healthier than the rest of us are Olympic athletes? They live longer? Mean and if so what does it mean for the rest of us mortals?

This only some of the questions are set out the two new studies in the BMJ, to answer.

The first study Olympic champion showed almost three years longer than the rest of us, regardless of their country, life medal won or played sports.

A second study with Olympic athletes, however, found that athletes who live sports over athletes not on high or medium intensity in low-intensity to Excel sports such as golf. But Boxer, Rugby and ice hockey players are more vulnerable die connected through physical contact with their sport.

In the first study researchers life expectancy compared the medals from 1896 to 2010 for the people in the general population, 15.174 Olympic athletes won. Winners lived approximately 2.8 years longer than not Olympic studied in eight of the nine groups of the country. It didn't matter the gold, silver or bronze, if they did, either at home.

"We were a little surprised that survival among Olympians was so pervasive," says researcher Philip M. Clarke. He is Professor of health economics at the University of Melbourne in Australia. "It can be observed in almost all countries, sports and medal type. Olympians are more like each other, when compared with the general population."

The study was not designed to find out why the Olympic athletes live longer, but the researchers have some theories.

"There are a number of explanations, including genetic factors, physical activity, healthy lifestyle, as well as wealth and status that comes from the international sporting glory," says Clarke. "While what we show to win a gold medal, is difficult to solve these effects, additional survival benefit gives none. "So maybe less is wealth and fame that can flow from the profit play a role, but we need to consider a further study on this issue in more detail."

You must be a Gabby Douglas, these benefits. "For those of us that do not lead regular exercise, able to win a medal, that is one thing that we can do to improve our life expectancy has been shown to protect against serious diseases such as type 2 diabetes," he says.

In the second study she pursued nearly 10,000 athletes researchers with a known age at death which took part at least an Olympic Games from 1896 to 1936.