Playing golf 'adds five years to your life', says the Telegraph, but tango's more fun

Via Don Surber, Playing golf 'adds five years to your life': The Swedes say so,

But golf could have greater health benefits than walking and even more strenuous forms of exercise, according to research in Sweden which shows that playing the game adds an average of five years to your life.

The study's authors, from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, calculate that this adds an extra five years on to the average player's lifespan.

How is that, pray tell?

"A round of golf means being outside for four or five hours, walking at a fast pace for six to seven kilometres, something which is good for the health," he said.

Walking?



What do you mean, walking?

Prof. Ahlbom continues,

Prof Ahlbom said that other factors outside the golf course, such as the fact that people who enjoy sport also generally lead a healthier lifestyle,

I'm all for drinks at the clubhouse and walking instead of taking the golf cart, but it's not looking like my lifespan will extend for 5 more years, because

The lowest death rates were found among players with the lowest handicaps.

Alas, my handicao is in the low four figures. Tell Tiger Woods that for my funeral I want everyone to go for drinks and dinner at Triumph.

Tango, however, has significant health benefits:

According to a study conducted by the Society for Neuroscience, challenging leisure activities such as dancing not only keep the aging body in shape, they also help to sharpen the aging brain by requiring memorization of dance steps and sequences which boost brain power and improve memory skills.

The New England Journal of Medicine found that ballroom dancing at least twice a week made people less likely to develop dementia while some people with Alzheimer's disease were able to recall forgotten memories when they danced to familiar music.

Better yet:

"Tango is a culture. It's a kind of healing. It's for people who have forgotten how to touch, how to look into each others eyes, how to respect a woman and how to respect it when a man leads. It's a lifestyle basically," she said, echoing the sentiments of others.

And there's also the shoes...



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