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Active Older Adults live longer, have better
Functional Status
Newswise — Older adults who continue or
begin to do any amount of exercise appear to
live longer and have a lower risk of
disability, according to a report in the
September 14 issue of Archives of Internal
Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
“Physical activity is a modifiable behavior
associated with health, functional status
and longevity, and encouraging a physically
active lifestyle has become an accepted
public health goal,” the authors write as
background information in the article.
However, most research on the benefits of
physical activity has focused on middle-aged
populations.
Jochanan Stessman, M.D., and colleagues at
Hebrew University Medical Center and Hebrew
University Hadassah Medical School,
Jerusalem, studied 1,861 individuals born in
1920 and 1921.
Participants
underwent assessments in their homes at ages
70, 78 and 85 years, during which they were
asked about their physical activity levels.
Those who performed less than four hours per
week of physical activity were considered
sedentary, while those who exercised about
four hours weekly, performed vigorous
activities such as jogging or swimming at
least twice weekly or who engaged in regular
physical activity (for example, walking at
least an hour daily) were considered
physically active.
The proportion of participants who were
physically active was 53.4 percent at age
70, 76.9 percent at age 77 and 64 percent at
age 85.
When compared with those who were sedentary,
individuals who were physically active were
12 percent less likely to die between ages
70 and 78, 15 percent less likely to die
between ages 78 and 85 and 17 percent less
likely to die between ages 85 and 88; were
more likely to remain independent and
experienced fewer declines in their ability
to perform daily tasks; and reported fewer
new instances of loneliness (12.2 percent
vs. 22.6 percent from ages 70 to 78 and 26.5
percent vs. 44.1 percent from ages 78 to 85)
and poor self-rated health (77.3 percent vs.
63.3 percent from ages 70 to 78 and 63.8
percent vs. 82.6 percent from ages 78 to
85).
The benefits associated with physical
activity were observed not only in those who
maintained an existing level of physical
activity, but also in those who began
exercising between ages 70 and 85.
“Although the mechanism of the survival
benefit is most likely multifactorial, one
important finding was the sustained
protective effect of physical activity
against functional decline,” the authors
write.
Physical activity may delay the spiral of
decline that begins with inability to
perform daily activities and continues
through illness and death by improving
cardiovascular fitness, slowing loss of
muscle mass, reducing fat, improving
immunity and suppressing inflammation.
“Despite the increasing likelihood of
comorbidity, frailty, dependence and
ever-shortening life expectancy, remaining
and even starting to be physically active
increases the likelihood of living longer
and staying functionally independent,” the
authors write.
“The clinical ramifications are far
reaching. As this rapidly growing sector of
the population assumes a prominent position
in preventive and public health measures,
our findings clearly support the continued
encouragement of physical activity, even
among the oldest old. Indeed, it seems that
it is never too late to start.”
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