Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Moderate physical activity amongst a large group of men and women between the ages of 54 and 72 improved healthy aging three times as much as those who did not exercise over an 8 year period.
The latest data from the Center for Disease Control states that the average lifespan in the United State is 78.6 years (1). A combination of lifestyle choices and genetics cause some people to have a higher quality of life compared to others. This is the concept of “healthy aging” and means not only the absence of clinical disease but also freedom from physical disability and preserved mental health (2).
The lack of physical activity is a crucial factor to healthy aging and ranks alongside tobacco, alcohol and obesity as a leading cause of reduced healthy life expectancy (3). Now a new study (4) has shed more light on the importance of physical activity to having a higher quality of life as we age.
In the study, 3,454 men and women between the ages of 54 and 72 participating in the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (5) were followed for 8 years. They provided data on their physical activity at the start of the study (6):
- Inactive (no moderate or vigorous activity on a weekly basis)
- Moderate activity at least once a week
- Vigorous activity at least once a week.
They were then divided into four groups over the eight years:
- Always inactive
- Became inactive
- Became active
- Always active
The researchers defined “healthy aging” based on previous research (7) as having all of the following:
- Being free from major chronic disease
- Having no major impairment of cognitive function
- Having no major limitation of physical functions
- Having good mental health
“Good mental health” was based on recall tests (8) and the use of the eight-item Centre of Epidemiological Studies Depression (9) to assess depression. Disability was assessed based on perceived difficulties in both basic (difficulty dressing, including putting on shoes and socks) (10) and instrumental (difficulty preparing a hot meal) activities of daily living (11).
Finally, physical functioning was objectively assessed using walking speed measured over an 8-foot long course, with walking speed greater than 0.6 meters/second used as a threshold to predict poor health and function (12).
Over the 8 years of follow-up, the researchers noted a direct relationship between physical activity and healthy aging. Specifically, those engaged in moderate or vigorous activity were 3.1 and 4.3 times more likely to be healthy agers, respectively, in comparison with inactive participants (p < 0.001). What’s more, they noted that even those who were initially inactive but became active were 3.5 times more likely to be healthy agers (p < 0.001), demonstrating that it’s never too late to start exercising as a way to improve quality of life.
For the researchers, “A reduction in physical activity may be one of the first indicators of the disease onset”, that “a sustained level of physical activity in older age is associated with improved overall health in participants surviving over an 8-year follow-up” and that “this study supports public health initiatives designed to engage older adults in physical activity, even those who are of advanced age.”
Source: Hamer, Mark, Kim L. Lavoie, and Simon L. Bacon. “Taking up physical activity in later life and healthy ageing: the English longitudinal study of ageing.” Br J Sports Med 48.3 (2014): 239-243.
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Posted December 11, 2013.
Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com
References:
- “Life Expectancy” posted on the CDC website
- Rowe JW, Kahn RL. Successful ageing. Gerontologist 1997;37:433–40
- Lee IM, Shiroma EJ, Lobelo F, et al. Effect of physical inactivity on major non-communicable diseases worldwide: an analysis of burden of disease and life expectancy. Lancet 2012;380:219–29.
- Hamer M. Taking up physical activity in later life and healthy ageing: the English longitudinal study of ageing. Br J Sports Med 2013 Nov 25. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2013-092993. [Epub ahead of print]
- Study details available on the Institute for Fiscal Studies (United Kingdom) website
- Hamer M, Molloy GJ, de Oliveira C, et al. Leisure time physical activity, risk of depressive symptoms, and inflammatory mediators: the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2009;34:1050–5
- Sabia S, Singh-Manoux A, Hagger-Johnson G, et al. Influence of individual and combined healthy behaviours on successful aging. CMAJ 2012;184:1985–92.
- Wilson RS, Leurgans SE, Boyle PA, et al. Neurodegenerative basis of age-related cognitive decline. Neurology 2010;75:1070–8
- Steffick DE. Documentation of affective functioning measures in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS/AHEAD Documentation. Report DR-005). Ann Arbor, MI:Survey Research Center, University of Michigan, US. 2000
- Katz S, Downs TD, Cash HR, et al. Progress in development of the index of ADL. Gerontologist 1970;10:20–30
- Lawton MP, Brody EM. Assessment of older people: self-maintaining and instrumental activities of daily living. Gerontologist 1969;9:179–86
- Studenski S, Perera S, Patel K, et al. Gait speed and survival in older adults. JAMA 2011;305:50–8
