Exercise in later life is beneficial: study

The British Journal of Sports Medicine published study has unveiled that doing exercise at elderly age make them stay healthy.
The study has found that those who have been doing exercise in their later life are three times more likely to stay fit in comparison to their inactive peers. In order to reach at the above given result, study researchers from the Montreal Heart Institute at Concordia University has monitored the health of 3,500 people. Average age of these people was 64 and they were tracked for more than eight years. Not only they were tracked, but their medical records were also assessed. Moreover, three categories were made, inactive, moderate activity and vigorous activity. These categories were made on the basis of frequency and intensity of exercises performed by the participants. "Sustained physical activity was prospectively associated with improved healthy ageing - absence of disease, freedom from disability, high cognitive and physical functioning, good-mental health", said study researchers. Doireann Maddock from the British Heart Foundation was of the view the view that it is vital to remain active. Remaining physically active will help in keeping a number of health complications at bay like heart disease. Therefore, taking up exercise is beneficial in later life also

Making exercise a prescription for diabetes (Canada)

Most Canadians would agree that physical activity and exercise plays an important role in preventing or managing the devastating effects of chronic diseases, including diabetes. But what we say and what we do can be very different. In fact, the majority of Canadians do not meet the physical activity guideline recommendations established by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology and the Canadian Diabetes Association. A unique team of health care and exercise professionals representing medicine, physiotherapy, dietetics, kinesiology, and psychology, comprising the Exercise is Medicine® Canada National Task Force, is aiming to change this reality by bringing physical activity and exercise into mainstream patient care. Dr. Jan Hux, Chief Scientific Advisor for the Canadian Diabetes Association, says the Canadian Diabetes Association's 2013 Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Diabetes in Canada (Guidelines) recommends all individuals with diabetes participate in at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity aerobic exercise each week, and encourages resistance training three times a week. "Providing diabetes care providers with practical and effective strategies for incorporating physical activity into a management plan is extremely valuable for people living with diabetes," she says

Exercise is 'as effective as pills' for patients with heart disease

Exercise may be just as effective as drugs at treating common diseases, according to a large study. The research, on more than 339,000 people, found being active was just as good as medicine for those with existing heart disease and in the prevention of diabetes. It also appeared to be a more effective treatment than drugs for people who had suffered a stroke. Experts at the London School of Economics, Harvard Medical School and Stanford University School of Medicine examined the findings of 305 trials on four conditions: pre-diabetes, heart disease, stroke and heart failure. Of the studies, 57 looked specifically at the effect of exercise and included 14,716 people. More than 200 trials examined drug treatment for the conditions, such as the effects of statins, beta blockers and anti-platelet therapy on preventing significant illness in those with heart disease. The results showed that exercise was just as effective as drugs in treating people with heart disease and whose blood sugar control suggested they were at high risk of diabetes. The results on heart failure were more unclear, with diuretic drugs being found to be more effective than exercise and all other types of drug treatment. The findings were most impressive for stroke, with exercise found to be more beneficial than drug treatment. Writing online in the British Medical Journal, the team concluded: "Our analysis suggests that exercise potentially had similar effectiveness to drug interventions with two exceptions. "In the case of stroke rehabilitation, exercise seemed to be more effective than drug interventions. "In heart failure, diuretics outperformed all comparators, including exercise." The experts said their findings suggest "exercise interventions should therefore be considered as a viable alternative to, or alongside, drug therapy

Study: The road to health starts by walking, biking to work

People who walk or bike to work are less likely to have diabetes, high blood pressure or a heart attack than those who drive to work, British researchers say. Anthony Laverty of the School of Public Health at Imperial College London and colleagues at the University College London examined how people got to work, using data from a survey of 20,000 people across Britain and compared it with health data. The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found people who walked to work were 17 percent less likely than people who drove to have high blood pressure, cyclists were around half as likely to have diabetes as drivers and 40 percent who walked were less likely to have diabetes as drivers. The study also found that those who cycled, walked or used public transport were all associated with lower risk of being overweight than those who drove or took a taxi. The researchers said people could reduce their risk of serious health problems such as heart attacks by avoiding using a car. "This study highlights that building physical activity into the daily routine by walking, cycling or using public transport to get to work is good for personal health," Laverty said in a statement

Kids’ cardiac threat (Spain)

Children who exercise for less than an hour a day could be at risk from heart disease in the future, according to Spanish research. One in seven of the 3,120 children who took part in the Europe-wide study were found to have higher than average blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The youngsters, aged between two and nine-years-old, were also found to have poor fitness levels and layers of fat, putting them at greater risk of health problems in later life, according to scientists at the University of Zaragoza. Meanwhile, a separate study by researchers at Newcastle University has revealed that girls exercise for an average of just 17 minutes a day, while boys were active for 24 minutes

Gardening reduces obesity risk

As well as providing a form of regular exercise, gardening could encourage people to eat more healthily if they grow their own vegetables, researchers said. It could also provide an important social benefit for those who share an allotment with others, for example by introducing them to like-minded people with similarly healthy lifestyles. Researchers from the University of Utah studied a group of 198 gardeners who shared community gardens - an American system similar to allotments - in Salt Lake City. They compared the gardeners' body mass index (BMI), calculated as someone's weight divided by the square of their height, against their neighbours to determine if their hobby made them healthier. On average, female community gardeners on average had a BMI which was 1.84 lower than their neighbours, which translates to an 11lb weight loss for a woman measuring 5ft 5in tall. For male gardeners, BMI scores were 2.36 lower on average - a difference of 16lb in weight for a 5ft 10in man, according to the study published in the American Journal of Public Health. Female gardeners were also 46 per cent less likely to be overweight or obese than their neighbours. The figure for male gardeners was 62 per cent. Gardeners were also more likely to have a healthier figure than their siblings, but not their husbands and wives - suggesting that spouses may also benefit from helping out on the allotment and eating the fruits of their labour. Prof Cathleen Zick, who led the study, said: "This initial study validates the idea that community gardens are a valuable neighbourhood asset that can promote healthier living. "That could be of interest to urban planners, public health officials and others focused on designing new neighbourhoods and revitalising old ones."

Old age 'is a state of mind' (UK)

People who consider themselves to be frail are more likely to abandon activities which can keep them healthy in old age such as taking regular exercise. But others with a more positive attitude can remain socially active, healthy and enjoy a greater quality of life despite having equal or greater levels of physical weakness, a study found. Researchers from Exeter University interviewed 29 people aged 66 to 98, who had varying levels of physical health and some of whom lived independently while others were in care homes. Participants were asked about their experience of ageing and frailty to determine how their attitude could affect their health and quality of life. Most participants, even those in the worst physical shape, maintained that they were still in good condition, with one commenting: "If people think that they are old and frail, they will act like they are old and frail". But in the two people who did consider themselves frail, researchers identified a "cycle of decline" where their outlook had led them to withdraw from socialising and exercise - even though they were physically stronger than some other participants. Previous studies have shown that elderly people who are physically active and have a rich social life remain healthier and happier in old age. Krystal Warmoth, a PhD student who led the study, presented her findings at the annual conference of the British Psychological Society recently. She said: "It is almost a self-fulfilling prophecy. "A person's beliefs about their self could lead to a loss of interest in participating in social and physical activities, poor health, stigmatisation, and reduced quality of life. "You are as old as you feel and your own views of yourself, or taking on this identity of being frail, is not what you should be doing," she added. "You should try and keep positive about getting older and not assume you will be frail."

Only one in 1,000 'heart healthy'

The American Heart Association recently issued a list of seven steps to follow to minimise the chances of suffering cardiovascular disease. Its "Life's Simple Seven" are: not smoking, being physically active, not being overweight, maintaining healthy cholesterol levels, keeping blood pressure down, regulating blood sugar levels, and eating healthily. But Professor Jean-Pierre Després, scientific director of the International Chair on Cardiometabolic Risk, said the number who met all seven criteria was vanishingly small. He said: "If you look at those simple seven, and you measure what percentage of different populations around the developed world meet those criteria, it's only 0.1 per cent. "In terms of having an optimal risk of cardiovascular disease, only one in 1,000 people is healthy." He continued: "If you only use the traditional risk factors like cholesterol and blood pressure you would probably end up with 15 per cent." But when one included exercise - or the lack of it - and diet, the number who were really healthy was far smaller. "Exercise and nutrition are the two hardest indicators of cardiovascular health to meet,"he said

Intense workouts may be safe for heart patients: study

Moderate levels of exercise are often prescribed for people recovering from a heart attack or heart surgery, but a new study finds that pumping up workouts to high intensity levels might be a safe option too. Among 4,800 Norwegian heart patients, who racked up a combined total of over 170,000 hours of aerobic exercise, researchers found three cardiac arrests occurred during workouts and only one was fatal. The number was too small to say for sure that high impact workouts are just as safe as moderate ones, but they show the overall risk of exercise bringing on cardiac arrest is fairly low, according to the authors. "I think we're on the right track, but before we make it a standard recommendation, let's get our safety data," said Dr. Steven Keteyian, the director of preventive cardiology at Henry Ford Hospital in Michigan, who was not involved in the study

Sudden cardiac death less likely after exercise, study says

People whose hearts stop functioning during or shortly after exercising are three times more likely to survive than those who have cardiac arrest unrelated to working out, researchers said. The Amsterdam Resuscitation Study looked at 2,517 cardiac- arrest cases in the Dutch capital's greater metropolitan area over a three-year period. Scientists found 145 of the patients were exercising during or within one hour of cardiac arrest and were mostly biking, playing tennis, working out at a gym or swimming, according to the research presented today at the European Society of Cardiology conference in Munich

Active pensioners 'add six years'

Being active and living a healthy lifestyle into your seventies can make a huge difference to your life expectancy, a Swedish study suggests. Academics at Sweden's Karolinska Institute analysed the lifestyles of 1,810 people over 75. The findings, on the British Medical Journal website, said men with the healthiest lifestyles lived six years longer, women had five extra years. Experts said it was never too late to start looking after your health. Being sedentary, overweight, a smoker or heavy drinker is bad for health and shortens life expectancy. The researchers said they did not know how big the effect would be after 75, so they followed a group of people for 18 years

Less chronic disease in store for fit 50-year-olds: study (USA)

Fit 50-year-olds are less likely to get chronic diseases as they age, according to a U.S. study that sheds new light on the link between exercise and healthy aging. "It has been known for decades that if you are more fit, you live longer," Dr. Jarett Berry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, told Reuters Health. "But it has not been clear that you have a higher quality of life, that you age better." It's possible that fit people just delay the onset of chronic illness, for instance, and end up being sick just as long as their weaker peers. But that doesn't appear to be the case, according to the new research, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. "We see truly reduced chronic disease, rather than just delaying the inevitable," said Berry, who led the study. He and his colleagues studied more than 18,600 healthy men and women who had undergone a treadmill test sometime around age 50 to measure their cardiorespiratory fitness

Exercising later in life can ward off heart problems (UK)

Leisurely exercise for two and a half hours a week could help those approaching their 50s avoid heart disease by controlling inflammation. Researchers found those who carry out physical activities such as brisk walking, cycling or home maintenance for a decade had healthier hearts. The results could help encourage the middle-aged to make lifestyle changes even if they rarely exercised in their younger years. Dr Mark Hamer, associate professor of epidemiology and public health at University College London (UCL), said: "It's not just vigorous exercise and sports that are important. "These leisure-time activities represent moderate intensity exercise that is important to health. It is especially important for older people to be physically active because it contributes to successful ageing." The findings were published in the journal Circulation

Exercise may ease depression in heart failure patients

Heart failure can take a heavy psychological toll, with many patients developing symptoms of depression. But a new study suggests that an exercise plan can ease the melancholy, creating improvements in mood that are comparable to the effects seen with medication. For roughly a year, researchers followed more than 2,000 people treated for congestive heart failure at 82 medical centers in the United States, France and Canada. Those who were assigned to a moderate aerobic exercise program - about 90 to 120 minutes a week - saw greater reductions in symptoms of depression than those who were not enrolled in such a program. "I think this shows that for patients who have heart failure, exercise is certainly an excellent treatment," said Dr. James A. Blumenthal, a professor of medical psychology at Duke University Medical Center and the lead author of the study, which was published in The Journal of the American Medical Association. "It's something that most patients can engage in. It results in improved cardiorespiratory fitness, they have more stamina, and now we see that not only do they derive these physical benefits, but they also derive psychological benefits as well."

Physical Activity - The Lancet (UK)

As London counts down the final days before the beginning of the 2012 Olympic Games, The Lancet publishes a Series on physical activity, including a new analysis that quantifies the global impact of physical inactivity on the world's major non-communicable diseases. The Series will also review current levels of physical activity and trends worldwide, why some people are active and why some are not, evidence-based strategies for effective physical activity promotion, and how a multi-sector and systems-wide approach that goes way beyond health will be critical to increase population-levels of activity worldwide

Breaks to get up and move good for health: Study

Taking a break to walk every 20 minutes instead of staying seated for hours helps reduce the body's levels of glucose and insulin after eating, according to a study - the latest to highlight the hazards of long periods of inactivity. Though the results, published in the journal Diabetes Care, don't show whether these reductions have any lasting health benefits, experiencing large glucose and insulin spikes after a meal is tied to a greater risk of heart disease and diabetes. "When we sit our muscles are in a state of disuse and they're not contracting and helping our body to regulate many of the body's metabolic processes," said David Dunstan, a professor at Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia. Dunstan and his colleagues have reported previously that people who watch more than four hours of TV a day are likely to have an earlier death. With this study, they experimented with how prolonged sitting could affect responses to food. After a meal, glucose levels in the blood go up, followed by a rise in insulin, which helps cells use blood sugar for energy or store it. Then, levels in the bloodstream start to go down. In people with type 2 diabetes, this process falls out of whack usually because the body no longer responds to insulin properly. After a meal, blood sugar and insulin levels spike and remain high

Swimming lowers older adults' blood pressure

Many older adults like to take a dip a pool, and now a small study suggests it can be good for their blood pressure. Researchers found that among 43 older men and women, those who started swimming a few times a week lowered their systolic blood pressure - the "top" number in a blood pressure reading. On average, the swimmers started the study with a systolic blood pressure of 131 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). Three months later, it was 122 mm Hg. Normal blood pressure is defined as an average reading no higher than 120/80 mm Hg. Readings of 140/90 or higher are considered high blood pressure, and anything in between is considered "pre-hypertension." Swimming is often promoted as a good way for older people to exercise, since it's easy on the joints and it's not likely to cause overheating. And many follow that advice: after walking, swimming is the second-most popular form of exercise among the older set. But there's been little research into the health benefits of swimming - though a number of studies have suggested that it's as safe for older adults as walking and bicycling, said Hirofumi Tanaka, senior researcher on the new study. Published in the American Journal of Cardiology, the research appears to be the first to demonstrate that swimming can improve older adults' blood vessel function and curb their blood pressure

Owning TV, car ups heart attack risk (Sweden)

Owning a car and TV was associated with an increased risk of heart attack, in a study involving 29,000 people in 52 countries, a Swedish researcher says. Lead researcher Claes Held of Uppsala University in Sweden and colleagues analyzed data from 1999 to 2003. One group of more than 10,000 middle-age men and women who had had a single heart attack was compared with a group of 14,000 who had no history of cardiovascular disease. Physical activity at work and during leisure time was divided into levels of exertion. The study, published in the European Heart Journal, found any kind of physical activity during leisure time was shown to be a plus - compared to doing almost nothing - with heart attack risk dropping 13 percent for mild activity and 24 percent for moderate or strenuous exercise. Heavy physical labor did not reduce risk at all. The study found 25 percent of the respondents in poorer and middle-income nations who owned a television and a car had an increased risk of heart attack, and two-thirds of those in rich nations who had a TV and car had an elevated risk of heart attack

Inactivity a greater heart risk than obesity, study finds

Never mind what the bathroom scales are saying and take a brisk walk: That's the message that emerges from a new study that shows that, when it comes to heart health, it's more important to be active than thin. The research, conducted exclusively on women, found that those who were fittest were least likely to have clogged arteries, had the fewest heart attacks and had far fewer risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The same associations did not hold true based on women's weight, or body mass index. (BMI is an approximation of body fat.) "Lack of physical fitness is a stronger risk factor for developing heart disease than being overweight or obese," said Timothy Wessel, a cardiologist at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville, Fla. He said the link between BMI and heart disease remains unclear, particularly in women. Dr. Wessel said the problem is that most obesity studies have not adequately measured physical activity and many studies of physical fitness have excluded women with known or suspected coronary heart disease. The research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, was conducted on 906 women who were prescribed a coronary angiography - a test that measures blockages in the arteries of the heart. Practically speaking, that meant many already had a number of risk factors for cardiovascular disease

Marathon training 'may pose a heart risk'

Doing extreme endurance exercise, like training for a marathon, can damage the heart, research reveals. MRI scans on 40 athletes training for challenging sporting events like triathlons or alpine cycle races showed most had stretched heart muscles. Although many went on to make a complete recovery after a week, five showed more permanent injuries. The researchers told the European Heart Journal how these changes might cause heart problems like arrhythmia. They stress that their findings should not be taken to mean that endurance exercise is unhealthy. In most athletes, a combination of sensible training and adequate recovery should cause an improvement in heart muscle function, they say