Does playing tennis make you live 9.7 years longer?

More or Less: Behind the Stats by BBC

Jul 11, 20268:58News & Politics

Recently a post did the rounds on Twitter, claiming that people who play tennis live on average 9.7 years longer than people who play other sports. The figure comes from a recent analysis of people's exercise habits in D...

Related Episodes

Continue listening to more episodes from More or Less: Behind the Stats.

Are bad teeth the number one reason kids go to A&E?

Sep 16, 2026 - 28:28

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: (00:33) Are crumbling teeth the numb...

Could this be the strongest El Niño in 1,000 Years?

Sep 12, 2026 - 8:57

Every year, climate scientists keep a close eye on data coming out of a particular area of the Pacific Oc...

Why are so many ex-prisoners being sent back to prison?

Sep 9, 2026 - 28:31

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: (00:38) The number of people being r...

Is every card shuffle unique?

Sep 5, 2026 - 8:58

Can it really be true that every shuffle of a deck of cards is unique? Mathematician and stand-up comedia...

Bonus podcast: Norman Numbers

Sep 4, 2026 - 6:44

What's this, an extra podcast? Has Christmas come early? No, the Bayeux Tapestry has instead returned to...

Do Germans really take 19.5 days of sick leave per year?

Aug 29, 2026 - 8:58

How do different countries compare, in terms of the amount of time that workers take as sick leave? Loyal...

How much of the world isn’t owned by anyone?

Aug 22, 2026 - 8:58

Sometimes world events of massive practical significance lead our minds towards some lovely impractical t...

14 million deaths or zero deaths? The impact of the USAID cuts

Aug 15, 2026 - 8:58

As part of their mandate to stop 'waste, fraud and abuse' in federal government spending, DOGE, the depar...