Senior Citizens Need to Work Out, Too
Despite the age-defying benefits of getting fit, seniors are the least physically active of all Americans—40 percent of women and 30 percent of men over 70 report that they never exercise. Beyond protection against heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers, numerous studies suggest that regular exercise can lower the risk of decline—the dementia, the frailty—that spells the end of independence. Brisk walks around the neighborhood make a great start. But more is needed to prevent falls and retain strength and mobility. The American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association have issued exercise guidelines for seniors that call for several workouts a week incorporating resistance training, stretching, and balancing as well as aerobics.
Those who work out for 45 minutes a day can improve their muscle strength by 75 to 100 percent and their bone density by 1 to 2 percent. They can also reverse a decade of decline in their heart and lung capacity. Getting regular aerobic workouts by walking, running, swimming, or biking, say, improves hypertension and cholesterol levels. Harvard University researchers have found that 2.5 hours of brisk walking per week can lower a woman’s risk of heart disease by 30 percent; other studies suggest a 50 percent reduction in elderly men who walk 1.5 miles per day. In addition, exercise produces a neuron growth factor that stimulates the brain that may explain why it seems to protect against memory loss and alleviate depression.
Resistance training can ease the aches and pains of aging. Strengthening the quadriceps, the four big muscles on the top of the thigh, for example, causes the muscles to absorb much of the burden on the knee joint, decreasing the pain of arthritis. And studies have found that two to three days a week of weight training preserves bone density and muscle mass, lowering the risk of fractures—a leading cause of debilitation in those over 65.
A doctor’s OK is a prerequisite of any exercise program. Diabetics, for example, may be told to check their blood sugar after a workout and may need to lower their medication dose, since exercise improves blood sugar levels. Those with osteoporosis might be instructed to swim or bike rather than run. But given all of exercise’s advantages, there’s not much chance of being let off the hook.
Source: http://health.usnews.com
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