Study: Exercise is the Key to Healthy Senior Years

According to a comprehensive new study, people who exercise regularly during middle age are far less likely to suffer from a wide range of dangerous health conditions in old age, including heart disease, Alzheimer’s and certain forms of cancer. Researchers also found that the fittest participants were the least likely to develop chronic health conditions.

“We’ve determined that being fit is not just delaying the inevitable, but it is actually lowering the onset of chronic disease in the final years of life,” said study author Jarett Berry (University of Texas, Dallas, USA) in a press statement.

“What sets this study apart is that it focuses on the relationship between midlife fitness and quality of life in later years. Fitter individuals aged well with fewer chronic illnesses to impact their quality of life,” said the study’s co-author, Benjamin Willis of the University of Texas.

In an accompanying commentary, Diane Bid of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute said, “In addition to observational studies such as the present one, clinical trials are needed to establish definitively the benefits and risks of approaches that have been shown in observational studies to be associated with extending health and life.”