Sustained physical activity can add years to life and substantially
improve the quality of those years, according to the latest results of a
long-term study into more than 12,000 elderly Western Australian men.
Previous research has already shown that
exercise also influences mental health.
In a paper recently published in the British Journal of Sports
Medicine, researchers from The University of Western Australia found
that 150 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week added two to
three years to the lives of those men who remained physically active for
the duration of the 13-year study.
Those who had regularly engaged in physical activity throughout the
study also aged more successfully than their inactive counterparts.
Successful ageing was defined as ageing free of depression, memory loss
or functional incapacity, while physical activity was defined as 150
minutes or more per week of exertion that made people huff and puff.
“So not only were active people more likely than non-active people to
survive, but those who were alive and active when we followed up had
reached old age in good shape, without evidence of depression or of
cognitive or functional problems,” lead author Professor Osvaldo Almeida
said.
“In other words they were able to move about and do their business
without significant assistance – looking after their finances, looking
after themselves, looking after their house etc, and they did not have
any evidence of mental illness.”
Professor Almeida, Winthrop Chair of Geriatric Psychiatry at UWA’s
School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, said the study also
showed it was never too late to take up regular exercise, with those men
who were inactive at the beginning of the study but who took up regular
physical activity during the follow-up period also reaping the
benefits.
“Those who started off inactive but became more active as time went
by benefited as well,” he said. ”Not as much as the ones who were
active at the beginning and the end, but quite a bit more than those who
were inactive throughout.”
Meanwhile, men who were active at the start of the study but gave it
up over the 10-13 year follow-up period all but lost the health benefits
of physical activity.
“It’s better to become active than to be active and stop,” Professor Almeida said.
“The message is it’s never too late to start physical activity, and
by engaging in regular physical activity older people not only survive
longer, but they ensure that the chance of them ageing successfully –
without significant functional impairments – also increases.
“Not only do they add years to life, but they add quality to their years.”
The study concluded that regular physical activity seemed to promote
longevity and healthy ageing and should be encouraged when safe and
feasible. But also keep in mind, that
too much exercise can be harmful.
The Health in Men Study (HIMS) is a longitudinal study of 12,201 men
aged 65-83 when recruited in 1996. The HIMS research team, largely made
up of UWA researchers, has so far published more than 100 papers on a
wide range of men’s health and ageing issues
