Regular exercise reduces frailty as we age – new findings

Avoid growing more physically frail as you age by exercising regularly, suggests UK research published in the Journal of Physiology.
Over a two-day period, experts tested 84 male and 41 female cycling enthusiasts aged 55–79 years. None of the volunteers had sedentary lifestyles, smoked, drank heavily, had high blood pressure or other health conditions.
No consistent biomarkers of age emerged from the study. In fact, a measure of the time taken to stand from sitting, walk three metres and sit back down showed that even the oldest participants were well within the norm for healthy young adults.
Many trends of decline in bodily functions may therefore not be inevitable aspects of the ageing process, and could be down to the combined effects of ageing and inactivity.
“Inevitably, our bodies will experience some decline with age, but staying physically active can buy you extra years of function compared to sedentary people,” concludes Prof Norman Lazarus who was involved in the work.
A spokeswoman for Arthritis Research UK comments:
“So many of our population are now living well into their 70s and 80s, and that should be a cause for celebration. But unless we can ensure that old age is spent in good health through remaining active – and this doesn’t necessarily meaning visiting the gym, it could be climbing the stairs on a regular basis, for example – it will be a stage in life that is endured rather than enjoyed.”

Image credit: Craig Sunter

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