Research shows it’s never too late to start exercising
/A small Norwegian city may have the fittest senior citizens in the world – and they may be a model for people who want to live longer, healthier lives.
For the past decade, Trondheim – a city of about 205,000 – has been ground zero for a long-term study of the impact exercise has on longevity. Nearly 10 years ago, researchers invited the city’s 70-to-77-year-old residents to join the Generation 100 study to determine if exercise helps older people to be healthier, more fit and live longer.
Many of the volunteers had never exercised before joining the study. But today, though most are in their 80s, they actively train and workout.
Results from this long-term study are both eye-opening and exciting. Participants are:
Living longer. More than 95% of the study’s 1,500 participants are alive and active – about twice the number statistics would have us expect. Plus, they report that high-intensity workouts have led to a better quality of life.
More energetic. Though fitness tends to decline with age, researchers found that Generation 100 participants remain as fit as the day they began the study. Those who did high-intensity workouts were actually found to be more fit. Being in better shape translates into more stamina for gardening, trips to the store and playing with grandchildren.
Healthier. The study found that participants in high-intensity training had the highest levels of protection against cardiovascular disease, blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol – all leading risk factors for life-threatening conditions that tend to afflict older humans.
Mentally sharper. Researchers found that the men and women who maintained or increased their physical fitness had better brain health than those whose fitness declined during the study. Even more stunning, participants who were in good shape when the study began had a faster reaction time when solving problems. And, people who improved their physical fitness also improved their working memory.
Any activity can benefit you
The most exciting thing about the Generation 100 experiment is that the kind of exercise you do tends to be less important than simply doing something. The study requires participants to be physically active for at least 150 minutes each week.
One group of participants does high-intensity exercises. A second group does moderate exercises or goes for walks.
Recent findings suggest that either approach to exercise is fine to improve physical fitness and deliver lifespan-lengthening health.