90% of adults over 75 in the UK fail to reach recommended levels of physical activity – which is particularly worrying now that a new report has made clear how great the benefits of exercise can be for older people. The study, by Stanford University Medical Center and published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, tracked 500 runners for more than 20 years – the study began when all were in their 50s. After 19 years, the study found that 34% of the non-runners had died compared to just 15% of the runners and, although both groups became more disabled with age, disability started an average of 16 years later among the runners.
Running not only appeared to slow the rate of heart- and artery-related deaths, but is also associated with fewer premature deaths from cancer, neurological disease, infections and other causes. The health benefits continue, even as the subjects of the study reach their 80s.
Happily, the researchers also found no evidence that runners were more likely to suffer osteoarthritis or need total knee replacements than non-runners.
As the lead author, James Fries, put it: ‘If you had to pick one thing to make people healthier as they age, it would be aerobic exercise.’
Source: BBC News Online, 11 August 2008