Walking, weightlifting, flexibility training and other forms of exercise can help seniors avoid disabilities normally associated with aging and even reverse the aging process itself, a team of scientists has concluded.
Some decline in physical ability is an inevitable result of normal aging, but inactivity can hasten this decline and result in all-too-rapid rates of muscle atrophy, decreased endurance, and loss of flexibility and balance, according to Kyriakos S. Markides, Ph.D., and colleagues at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.
Reporting in the winter issue of Behavioral Medicine, the researchers
cite numerous studies that demonstrate the benefits of exercise on the aging
process, including:
- A walking program for people in their 70s that reversed 22 years of
declining lung capacity in 22 weeks. The capacity of lungs to absorb oxygen
normally declines an average of 1 percent a year after age 40; those in their
70s recaptured the lung capacity they'd had in their 50s.
- A 12-week weight resistance program that more than doubled the leg muscle
strength of some participating women 64 years and older.
- A 12-month resistance training program for both men and women that increased
their muscle strength by 30 to 100 percent in the first three months, after
which point they reached a plateau and did not continue improving.
- A study in which people who exercised by walking several days a week decreased their risk of disability and improved their ability to walk distances, climb stairs, stoop, crouch, kneel, and carry objects. The risk of disability decreased by one-third for whites and two-thirds for African-Americans.
Older people not only can slow down aging by maintaining regular physical activity but also prevent chronic conditions, say Markides and colleagues.
A sedentary lifestyle is the most prevalent modifiable risk factor for coronary artery disease, far exceeding hypertension, smoking and high cholesterol. In one study, 184 adults aged 60 and older were randomized into three groups: long-term exercise, short-term exercise, and a control group. At the end of two years, both exercise groups showed a decreased rate of new cardiovascular diagnoses compared to the controls.
The researchers report that patients who already have coronary artery disease can reduce their risk of death from a cardiac event by 20 to 25 percent if they exercise, and even lower the severity of some risk factors for heart attacks, such as hypertension, obesity, high cholesterol and diabetes.
A sedentary lifestyle also increases the risk for hip fractures, they say. In one study, women who spent less than four hours a day on their feet had nearly twice the risk of hip fractures as their more active counterparts.
Behavioral Medicine is a quarterly journal edited and peer-reviewed by an international team of scientists who research the linkages between human behavior and health. For information about the journal, contact Executive Editor C. David Jenkins, Ph.D., at 919-968-0704.
Posted by the Center for the Advancement of Health, http://www.cfah.org. For information about the Cetner, contact cfah@cfah.org, 202-387-2829.
Journal
Behavioral Medicine