Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41688451›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Sustained physical activity offers benefits beyond activity volume in chronic disease prevention.

Zhe Fang, Peilu Wang, Bernard A Rosner, Edward L Giovannucci, Mingyang Song

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Zhe FangDepartment of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0864-3644
Peilu WangDepartment of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Institute of Nutrition, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Bernard A RosnerChanning Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6907-0056
Edward L GiovannucciDepartment of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6123-0219
Mingyang SongDepartment of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. msong@hsph.harvard.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1324-0316

Funding

The Gut Microbiome, Lifestyle, and Colorectal NeoplasiaU01CA261961 · NCI · HARVARD UNIVERSITY D/B/A HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH · PI Mingyang Song · 2022 to 2026
$3.0M
Harnessing DNA methylation in peripheral blood for improved colorectal cancer preventionR01CA285851 · NCI · HARVARD UNIVERSITY D/B/A HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH · PI Marios Giannakis, Mingyang Song · 2024 to 2026
$2.0M
American Cancer Society (American Cancer Society, Inc.) CRP-23-1014041U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01CA285851U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | National Institutes of Health (NIH) U01CA261961
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Evidence supports the health benefits of physical activity, but the longitudinal patterns of physical activity associated with long-term health outcomes remain insufficiently understood. In 231,488 health professionals from three US cohorts with repeated physical activity assessments for 32 years, we prospectively examined the associations of long-term physical activity patterns (volume, consistency, and trajectories) with incidence of major chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, major cardiovascular disease, and cancer. We find that maintaining a volume at the recommended level throughout the follow-up is related to a greater risk reduction than engaging in sporadic high-volume activity in some periods mixed with inactivity. The trajectory analysis reveals that being physically active throughout middle adulthood is associated with a 10-28% lower incidence of major chronic diseases after age 60. This work demonstrates that maintaining physical activity over the long term provides added benefits beyond activity volume alone for chronic disease prevention.

Indexed as

Cardiovascular DiseasesDiabetes Mellitus, Type 2ExerciseChronic DiseaseFemaleHumansIncidenceMaleNeoplasmsProspective Studies

Identifiers

PMID41688451
PMCPMC13013788

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.