Research
Adherence
Exercise is generally safe with minimal adverse events, which are typically mild, transient, and comparable to control groups, though reporting of adverse events is often poor in studies.
Exercise is safe for most people. You might experience some muscle soreness, but serious side effects are rare. Do not let fear of injury stop you from exercising, as the benefits to your health and longevity are substantial.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
The evidence suggests that physical activity/exercise reduces mortality rates and improves QOL with minimal or no safety concerns... Mild AEs were reported in 28 (18.6%) CSRs, moderate in 9 (6%) and serious/severe in 20 (13.3%). There were 10 deaths and in majority of instances, the causality was not attributed to exercise.
Why this rating
Based on 150 CSRs, but adverse event reporting is inconsistent and often underreported.
Source
Exercise/physical activity and health outcomes: an overview of Cochrane systematic reviews
Paul Posadzki et al. · BMC Public Health · 2020
DOI 10.1186/s12889-020-09855-3
Meta-analysis · 150 studiesCited 489×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Regular physical activity or exercise reduces all-cause mortality by approximately 13% compared to control groups, with the magnitude of benefit being larger for patients with cardiovascular disease than for other populations.Good
- Physical activity improves Quality of Life (QOL), with the greatest improvements observed in patients with mental health conditions, followed by cardiovascular disease and cancer patients.Good
Related findings · Adherence
- Regular physical activity (at least 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity) reduces all-cause and cardiovascular mortality by 20-30% and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes by 25-35%.Strong
- Increasing physical activity from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one in middle adulthood significantly reduces the risk of coronary events compared to remaining sedentary.Strong
- Resistance exercise is the only intervention capable of consistently restoring muscle function and strength in sarcopenia, partially overcoming age-related anabolic resistance.Strong
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →