We all know that exercise is amazingly good for us and that regular exercise and being active helps us live longer. But does exercise for older people make a diference? For those of us who’ve avoided working out all our lives, can getting a late start do any good?
A solid study out of Sweden presents compelling evidence that it really doesn’t matter if you have not worked out until mid-life – just so long as you get up and get moving, you’ll still be able to prolong your life.
A team from Uppsala University and the Karolinska Institute conducted the study, and the work was funded by the Swedish Research Council.
As a population-based cohort project, men were followed for 35 years, and beyond the physical activity, and any changes between surveys, the scientists looked activity level versus quitting smoking to see which key lifestyle change might have the most impact on how long you live.
The researchers gathered data from over 2,200 men who were age 50 before 1973. The subjects completed surveys that asked four basic questions about leisure time activity, and were grouped based on their responses into low, medium or high activity types.
Subjects were then examined again at ages 60, 70, 77 and 82 and any changes in physical activity level were also recorded.
Blood pressure, cholesterol levels, smoking status, use of alcohol and body mass index (BMI) were taken at each survey point.
The team also looked at the men’s educational levels, socioeconomic group and occupations from both the 1970 and 1980 census data. Any medical or psychiatric diagnoses were caught by the national hospital discharge register, deaths through the Swedish National Population Register. All are exceptionally reliable sources of information that can be easily obtained.
The change in physical activity between ages 50 and 60 was given special attention.
At the beginning of the study in the early 1970s, about half of the subjects said they engaged in a high level of activity – at least 3 hours of recreational sports or heavy work in the garden each week.
Thirty six percent reported medium activity – listing activities like walking and cycling, and 15% fell into the low activity or sedentary category.
In the end, the mortality rates were highest among the men who got the least activity, and lowest for the men who were the most active.
But interestingly and reassuringly after a decade, the mortality rate in men who’d increased their activity was the same, over years of time mind you, as the subjects who’d kept up high levels of activity throughout the study. The benefit was on par with quitting smoking.
After adjusting for other risk factors, subjects who reported high levels of activity from age 50 onward were expected to live 2.3 years longer than subjects who were the least physically active, and 1.1 years longer than the men who’d originally reported medium physical activity.
This is certainly a significant amount of time, and well worth a commitment to regular physical activity.
“It shows that it is never too late to start exercising,” according to Karl Michaelsson, lead researcher. The work appears in the March 5, 2009 British Medical Journal, BMJ.
Continues below…
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It’s Never Too Late To Start Exercising to Live Longer continued…
You should also understand that while this study is solidly designed and carefully executed, a person’s health (and lifespan) are likely determined by a complex interplay of medical, psychological, social and lifestyle choices – these certainly weren’t considered in the work.
And as a still surprising amount of research does, this work applies only to men, women were not part of the study so the results can’t automatically be applied to females, although it is likely that the results will be similar.
Consider the study a wake up call if you’re not active… or active enough. But know too that exercise for older people isn’t the only healthy lifestyle choice you’ll need to make in order to add years to your life.
