Researchers have found a potential link between spending time at the theater, visiting museums, and watching movies on the big screen and living healthier for longer.
In a rare study looking at the relationship between cultural engagement and biological aging, scientists from Japan’s Institute of Science Tokyo analyzed data gathered on 1899 adults aged 50 years and older from the UK’s English Longitudinal Study of Aging. The study measured ten physiological markers, or biomarkers, including pulse pressure, diastolic blood pressure, forced expiratory volume, hemoglobin concentration, fibrinogen, glycated hemoglobin, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, body mass index (BMI), grip strength, and walking speed.
Participants also answered a survey related to cultural engagement, gathering data on how many times people had attended a cinema, art gallery or museum, theater, concert or the opera. A score was applied to the participants’ responses – from zero, if an individual had never attended the listed cultural activities, to five, indicating two visits a month or more.
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Overall, participants received a score ranging from zero to 15. The researchers found that people who had the highest cultural engagement had an average biological age of 66.9 years – three years lower than participants who never or rarely attended places like museums and theaters, who had an average biological age of 69.9 years.
After adjusting for obvious confounding factors – household income, employment, chronic health conditions – the study found that a single point increase in the cultural engagement score was associated with a 0.085-year (31 days) lower biological age. They acknowledge that wealth, time, and health play a big part in how accessible the culture and arts are to people.
The rising cost of living in many countries – including the US and Australia – has seen theaters struggle to get bums on seats and concerts and other events canceled because of poor ticket sales. For many people, engagement in the arts is one of the first cuts made to a budget when things get tight.
In a 2022 survey, 52% of US respondents said going to watch a film on the big screen was too expensive. However, the researchers note that there are more affordable ways to get your culture fix for cheap – and get your steps in doing so, if you can. “The impact can be comparable to frequent physical activity,” the researchers write.
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The team also highlights the importance of providing cultural events and spaces to those who live in areas of limited access. They suggest that future studies should aim to take a long-term look at whether cultural engagement promotes better health, and also investigate the mechanisms that could be at play.
The study was published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. The researchers found that women were more likely to partake in cultural enrichment in their spare time.
It is possible that cultural engagement could be a key factor in promoting healthy aging, and further research could help to clarify this relationship.
