Despite the body beginning to wear out in middle age, there is still much we can do to slow and reverse the trend. As part of a long-term study to determine how post-middle age changes in physical activity affect mortality rates, 2,205 Swedish men were initially surveyed from 1970 to 1973 at the age of 50. Each participant was categorized into one of four groups according to their level of physical activity: sedentary, low, medium or high. Researchers followed up as they turned 60, 70, 77 and 82.
The study team found what we would expect: exercising more translated into lower mortality rates in the low, medium and high groups. But the study also revealed some surprising findings. Those participants who raised their level of physical activity between the ages of 50 and 60 experienced the same mortality rates as those men who had always maintained high levels of physical activity. The results were so pronounced that the study team compared the reduction in mortality to people who stop smoking. “Increased physical activity in middle age is eventually followed by a reduction in mortality to the same level as seen among men with constantly high physical activity. This reduction is comparable with that associated with smoking cessation,” writes the study team. However, the researchers found that in order for low-level exercisers to “catch up,” they would need to maintain regular physical activity for at least five years.
The study, which was recently published in the British Medical Journal, has an important underlying message: It is never too late to start exercising, even when we have reached or passed middle age. Unfortunately, most people are likely to embrace age-related decline as inevitable. And yet, as the study confirms, we can reverse some of the damage done in earlier years and become as healthy as people who have maintained a healthy lifestyle for most of their lives. And while the study only looked at men, many other studies have been done to reinforce the link between physical activity and good health for both genders.
News Release: Physical activity improves longevity: It’s never too late to start http://www.naturalnews.com/025923.html March 25, 2009
