Physically active middle-aged adults may continue to reap the benefits years later, study findings show.
"Our study shows that greater physical activity in your 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s has beneficial effects well into the future by helping us maintain our ability to walk and function at older ages," study co-author Dr. Kushang V. Patel, of the National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland, told Reuters Health.
"Our results imply that a physically active lifestyle throughout the life course can not only lead to longer life expectancy, but can also help maintain our ability to walk and quality of life for a longer period of time in older adulthood, which can reduce the burden of disability and health care costs in the population," the researcher added.
Patel and colleagues analyzed information on 1,155 seniors in Italy who were asked about their levels of physical activity during their midlife — ages 20 to 40 and 40 to 60 — and underwent a medical examination and testing of their mobility.
Participants who reported engaging in more physical activity during their midlife years performed better on tests of their mobility than did those who reported less physical activity, the researchers report in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
In fact, seniors who reported engaging in vigorous physical activity during their earlier years scored nearly one point higher on a battery of tests evaluating their physical performance, including their walking and chair-rise speeds, than did those who reported the lowest level of physical activity. In a previous study, researchers found that older adults who experienced a one-point decline on the tests had an 80 percent increased risk of death, the current study’s authors note.
In other findings, physically active men were 63 percent less likely to fail a 400-meter walking test than those who were less active during their middle-age years. Men who were very active in their earlier years, who exceeded current US exercise recommendations — 30 or more minutes of moderate-intensity exercise on most days of the week or at least 20 minutes of vigorous exercise on three or more days of the week — were even more likely to complete the walking test.
"The most surprising aspect of this research was the large magnitude of effect that physical activity in midlife had on preserving walking ability at older ages," Patel told Reuters Health.
In light of the findings, "middle age, particularly the 40 to 60 year range, might be a critical period in which physical activity can offset the impact of chronic diseases on walking function at older ages," the researcher added.
SOURCE: American Journal of Preventive Medicine, September 2006.
