Why it's never too late to exercise. Ask anyone to guess which age group is least likely to be meeting recommended physical activity guidelines, and they'll opt for children. So here's a statistic that may surprise you: in 2007, 72% of boys and 63% of girls aged 2-15 met the '60 minutes a day, every day' target. Grown-ups (aged 16-64) didn't fare so well - with 40% of men and just 28% of women achieving the recommended level of physical activity for adults (five or more sessions of 30 minutes' moderate activity a week). But it's older people who sit firmly at the bottom of the class.
Department of Health figures show that only 17% of men and 13% of women over the age of 65 are sufficiently active. Other research shows that 44% of adults over the age of 70 years take a 20-minute walk less than once a year - or never. It seems that the older we get, the less active we are. But why? The benefits But is it too late to improve your fitness and health once you are past the first flushes of youth? The barriers OK. The target. Can Exercise Keep You Young? We all know that physical activity is beneficial in countless ways, but even so, Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky, a professor of pediatrics at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, was startled to discover that exercise kept a strain of mice from becoming gray prematurely. Getty Images But shiny fur was the least of its benefits. Indeed, in heartening new research published last week in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, exercise reduced or eliminated almost every detrimental effect of aging in mice that had been genetically programmed to grow old at an accelerated pace.
In the experiment, Dr. Mitochrondria have their own DNA, distinct from the cell’s own genetic material, and they multiply on their own. Many scientists consider the loss of healthy mitochondria to be an important underlying cause of aging in mammals. The mice that Dr. Except the mice that exercised. Half of the mice were allowed to run on a wheel for 45 minutes three times a week, beginning at 3 months. Dr. Dr. Physical activity linked to lower rates of cognitive impairment. Engaging in regular physical activity is associated with less decline in cognitive function in older adults, according to two studies published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
The articles are being released on July 19 to coincide with the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Paris and will be included in the July 25 print edition. According to background information provided in the articles, previous research has suggested that physical activity is associated with reduced rates of cognitive impairment in older adults. However, much of this research has apparently been conducted among individuals who are generally in good health. Further, many of these studies rely on self-reports of physical activity, which are not always accurate; and focus on moderate or vigorous exercise, instead of low-intensity physical activity. In another report, Laura E. Commentary: Brains and Aging. Aerobic exercise may reduce the risk of dementia, researchers say.
Any exercise that gets the heart pumping may reduce the risk of dementia and slow the condition's progression once it starts, reported a Mayo Clinic study published this month in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Researchers examined the role of aerobic exercise in preserving cognitive abilities and concluded that it should not be overlooked as an important therapy against dementia. The researchers broadly defined exercise as enough aerobic physical activity to raise the heart rate and increase the body's need for oxygen. Examples include walking, gym workouts and activities at home such as shoveling snow or raking leaves. "We culled through all the scientific literature we could find on the subject of exercise and cognition, including animal studies and observational studies, reviewing over 1,600 papers, with 130 bearing directly on this issue.
Co-authors include Yonas Geda, M.D.; Neill Graff-Radford, M.D.; and Ronald Petersen, Ph.D., M.D. Exercise Improves the Sleep Older Adults. FYI Health Tip Exercising daily helps you sleep at night! You’re never too old to benefit from exercise, especially if you’re one of the nearly 50 percent of older Americans who complain of suffering from sleep problems. Results from a new senior-focused study , suggests that regular physical activity may increase the quality of sleep for older adults with insomnia. In fact, seniors who worked out just a few times a week averaged more than an hour of extra sleep per night. Health Poll Loading ...
Though the elderly are often stereotyped as people who sleep all of the time, they are even more prone to chronic sleep troubles at their age. Half of the subjects were put on a steady exercise regimen. In the end, the non-exercise group only increased their amount of sleep time by 12 minutes a night and showed no difference in their amount of sleep disturbances, like waking up in the middle night. Although the study is not without its flaws, the findings are hopeful. You may also like: Quality Of Sleep Impacted By Physical Activity. Clock Turned Back on Aging Muscles, Researchers Claim. Scientists have found and manipulated body chemistry linked to the aging of muscles and were able to turn back the clock on old human muscle, restoring its ability to repair and rebuild itself, they said today. The study involved a small number of participants, however. And the news is not all rosy. Importantly, the research also found evidence that aging muscles need to be kept in shape, because long periods of atrophy are more challenging to overcome.
Older muscles do not respond as well to sudden bouts of exercise, the scientists discovered. And rather than building muscle, an older person can generate scar tissue upon, say, lifting weights after long periods of inactivity. The findings are detailed today in the European journal EMBO Molecular Medicine. More research would be needed before any anti-aging products might result from the work, however. Strong mysteries Scientists know that muscles deteriorate rapidly in old age. Meanwhile, there is no fountain of youth for aging muscles. Cheating Father Time: 50-year-old can be every bit as fit as someone 30 years younger, but exercise is key. Who is likely to be fitter: a lazy 20-year-old or an active 50-year-old?
New research from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology's K.G. Jebsen Center of Exercise in Medicine provides statistical evidence that the 50-year-old can be every bit as fit as someone 30 years younger. But exercise -- how much, and how intense -- is the key, say K.G. Jebsen Center researchers. Middle-aged exercise buffs who might be discouraged by the effects of aging on their overall fitness can take heart in research from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology's (NTNU) K.G. Jebsen Center of Exercise in Medicine. Activity is far more important than age in determining fitness levels -- and an active 50-year-old can be every bit as fit as a sedentary 20-year-old, says Ulrik Wisloff, Jebsen Center director and principle investigator of the study. Largest fitness database in the world Age and fitness The underpinnings of the K.G. Time had not been so charitable to these men. So how do K.G. Don't Mess With Ernestine Shepherd-- Body Building Grandma Benches 150.
Taut abs and rippling muscles aren't exactly the stuff grandmothers are known for. But then again neither are marathons and cell phones that play the theme to "Rocky. " At 73, Ernestine Shepherd is in better shape than most people decades her junior. Up at 3 a.m. every morning, she spends her days running, lifting weights and working out other senior citizens at the Union Memorial United Methodist Church in Baltimore.
She also works as a certified personal trainer at her gym. Elderly weightlifter "I feel better than I did at 40," she said. In less than 20 years, Shepherd has morphed from a "prissy" woman who never exercised to the Guinness Book of World Records' oldest female bodybuilder. A die-hard "Rocky" fan -- "Sylvester Stallone is my man," she cooed -- Shepherd is preparing for a body building competition this weekend. "I feel now that I am a very strong, positive and confident woman," she said. Shepherd runs about 80 miles per week and bench presses 150 pounds. Well, almost. Seniors Can Still Bulk Up On Muscle By Pressing Iron. Hide captionSandy Palais, 73, of Arizona started lifting weights about 10 years ago after she was diagnosed with osteoporosis.
Jason Millstein for NPR Sandy Palais, 73, of Arizona started lifting weights about 10 years ago after she was diagnosed with osteoporosis. As we age, our muscle mass decreases at surprising rates. According to Dr. David Heber, director of UCLA's Center for Human Nutrition, an average male who weights 180 pounds might after age 60 lose as much as 10 pounds of muscle mass over a decade. But can we turn that around? Heber says absolutely. In fact, new research published in the journal Medicine & Science In Sports & Exercise finds older adults who begin lifting weights after 50 may win the battle against age-related muscle loss. hide captionPalais started weight training to build bone mass. Palais started weight training to build bone mass. "You have to do what we call resistance exercise," Heber says. Success Story Palais started going to the gym three days a week.
Physical fitness trumps body weight in reducing death risks, study finds. If you maintain or improve your fitness level -- even if your body weight has not changed or increased -- you can reduce your risk of death, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. In a study of 14,345 adult men, mostly white and middle or upper class, researchers found that: Maintaining or improving fitness was associated with a lower death risk even after controlling for Body Mass Index (BMI) change. Every unit of increased fitness (measured as MET, metabolic equivalent of task) over six years was associated with a 19 percent lower risk of heart disease and stroke-related deaths and a 15 percent lower risk of death from any cause. Becoming less fit was linked to higher death risk, regardless of BMI changes. BMI change was not associated with death risks. BMI is a measurement based on weight and height (kg/m2).
Participants, who were an average 44 years old, were part of the long-term, large-scale Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study.