Want to age well? Turns out there’s one easy way to ensure a better quality of life as you reach your senior years, according to a recent study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine: Exercise regularly.
According to the research, which was first reported by Medical Xpress on November 25, seniors who sustained “regular physical activity” for a period of four years were more likely to experience healthy aging, a term used to described good mental health as well as a lack of physical problems as a person gets older.
The type of exercise didn’t seem to affect this either–it just mattered that they exercised regularly.
“Regular exercise staves off chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease, diabetes and depression,” says Samantha Heller, a senior clinical nutritionist and exercise physiologist at the NYU Langone Medical Center. “What this study emphasizes is that the ‘I’m too old’ excuse doesn’t fly, because it is never too late to get your fanny off the couch and out the door for some exercise.”
Why Exercise Matters
Studying a total of 3500 senior adults with an average age of 64, researchers looked at their exercise habits to see how it affected how they aged as part of the English Longitudinal Study of Aging, a national poll tracking the health of English adults born before February 29, 1952.
More specifically, researchers wanted to see if physical activity had any impact in the long term on health conditions that often crop up during old age, such as depression, dementia, and cognitive function.
In a self-reported questionnaire, participants explained how often they exercised, including how intense the exercise was, during 2003 and 2003. Researchers then followed up with them every two years until 2011.
At the end of the study, they found that more exercise often yielded better results for these active seniors–those who did moderate to vigorous physical activity at least once per week were up to four times more likely to experience healthy aging.
“In a growing elderly population, it is important to encourage healthy aging,” says Mark Hamer, lead researcher of the study, who leads the department of epidemiology and public health at University College London. “Physical activity is effective in maintaining health in old age. Encouraging physical activity in older adults is of benefit, and small changes are also linked to healthier aging.”
According to the research, they didn’t necessarily have to be active prior to the study. During their research, they also found that seniors who decided to become more active during the study still reaped plenty of results–and were three times more likely to be considered “healthy agers.”
Case in point? If you want to age gracefully, exercise is a must–and it’s never too late to get fit.
Recommendation
If you’re about to reach your 50s or 60s and don’t exercise regularly, now’s the time to start. According to the study, it didn’t necessarily matter how they exercised–it just mattered that they did it. A couple of moderate to vigorous exercise sessions per week may be your ticket to a healthy life in old age.
Readers: Do you think exercise is important for seniors or not?
Sources:
Stay Younger By Keeping Active – WebMD.com
Aging Delayed By Exercise? – MedicalXpress.com
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