University Of Minnesota Study Now Predicts When You’ll Die

A new study from the University of Minnesota says it has identified the biggest predictor of when you might die – and the answer might not be the usual suspects!

Talking-- or writing-- about one's mortality is always sobering. In the hustle and bustle of our day-to-day activities here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, most of us usually don't give our death much thought. But a new study from the University of Minnesota, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Colorado has something you might want to think about.

This new study has pinpointed what it calls the 'strongest predictor of all-cause mortality,' meaning it now has pinpointed the top thing (or lack of that thing) that could cause your death. And it might be right there on your wrist.

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The study, published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, doesn't necessarily give you an exact date of when you'll expire, mind you, but it does say that the best way to predict how soon you might die is how much physical activity you do-- or don't do, perhaps-- as measured by those popular activity trackers and watches many of us wear.

According to this National Institute of Health (NIH) report, the study looked at a larger study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that examined over 3,600 Americans between the ages of 50 to 80. Participants in the study, which ran between 2011 and 2014, wore a research-grade activity tracker for a week. The study then compared the activity results of the participants who were still living 8 years later, compared to the 416 participants who had passed away.

And the results say your level of physical activity is a better predictor of whether you're going to pass away soon-- even more so than whether you're overweight or obese, have diabetes, or even if you smoke or suffer from heart disease! Yikes. Maybe I'd better get on my resolution to get more active here in 2025!

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The Minnesota Star Tribune says that the survey also shows that getting active-- and with a higher intensity-- during your 10 most active hours can be associated with a lower risk of dying, as well.

Of course, there are many other factors involved in determining an individual's mortality, the survey said, but the bottom line is that physical activity-- especially as measured by those trackers-- and getting active, is important, something that many other studies have also concluded as well.

You can read the entire survey HERE. And speaking of getting active, keep scrolling to check out some animals to be aware of if you're going to get outside here in the North Star State because they're the 12 deadliest animals in Minnesota!

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