Exercise Later in Life Promotes Health Ageing, Study Finds
Everyone knows that exercise is vital to health. Even those who start getting active later in life are reaping significant health benefits, according to new research.
Researchers tracked the health of around 3,500 people, whose average age was 64, for more than eight years. All of the participants were part of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, which involved a nationally representative sample of the household population of England born on or before 29 February 1952. The new study was focused on analysing the impact of physical activity on the risk of developing long-term health problems, depression and dementia, and on the likelihood of healthy ageing.
Cognitive abilities and mental health of the participants were assessed using a series of validated tests; whist disability was measured according to their responses to questions about the ease with which they were able to carry out daily routines, and an objective test of walking speed.
At the end of the study, one in ten participants managed to stay active whilst almost 70 per cent remained inactive. The rest either remained inactive or became active.
Their findings, which were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, revealed that four years of sustained regular physical activity promoted healthy ageing by up to sevenfold, compared with consistent inactivity. At the end, four out of 10 had developed a long term condition; almost one in five was depressed; a third had some level of disability; and one in five was cognitively impaired. Furthermore, one in five was categorised as ‘healthy ager’.
The research team also found that those who had regularly engaged in moderate or vigorous physical activity at least once a week were three to four times more likely to experience healthy ageing than those who had remained inactive, after taking account other influential factors. Also, those who became physically active were more than three times as likely to have healthy ageing. But those who managed to stay active for the entire period of the study had the greatest benefits – they were seven times as likely to be healthy agers as those who had consistently remained inactive.
Their findings indicate that it is never too late to get physically active. "This study supports public health initiatives designed to engage older adults in physical activity, even those who are of advanced age”, the researchers wrote.
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