Study- Exercise Beneficial to Aging Even With a Late Start

A study which followed 3,500 people for 8 years, starting at an average age of 64, found that significant “quality of life” advantages for those who were classified as active – moderate activity at least once per week or vigorous activity at least once per week- compared to those classified as “inactive.”

The researchers monitored medical records and gave tests to measure mental capacity to participants every two years, and classified their activity levels at those intervals. At the study’s conclusion they determined that about 19% could be classified as “healthy agers”-- absence of disease, freedom from disability, high cognitive and physical functioning, and good mental health.

Participants who averaged either moderate or vigorous activity at least once per week were 4 times more likely to have been “healthy agers”, and importantly, those inactive participants who changed their activity patterns during the study were 3 times more likely to have been classified as a “healthy ager.” Significant benefits to physical and mental health were seen even in those who became active later in life.