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Guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate exercise every week, but an estimated 60% of older Americans fall short. Yet, despite a comparatively low dose of each day exercise, men and girls aged 60 and older had a 22 percent lower risk of death over 10 years, in accordance with one study. British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM). The study was observational, nevertheless, so even though it strongly links exercise to longevity, it cannot prove that one causes the opposite.
People generally exercise to remain healthy, to not die. But measuring the danger of death from any cause is an easy option to capture people's overall health. If fewer die, it indicates that more of them are healthy.
The BJSM report combined the outcomes of nine studies that tracked greater than 122,000 people over time. Those who reached the goal of 150 minutes every week were 28 percent less more likely to die inside 10 years than their inactive counterparts. But those that managed just 75 minutes per week — a mean of quarter-hour over five days of the week — still enjoyed a 22 percent lower risk.
The study adds support to the principle that older people should exercise as commonly as they will manage, even when a chronic health condition like knee arthritis prevents them from scoring an A+ on national guidelines. Stops “Based on these findings,” the study authors said, “we believe that the physical activity targets in current recommendations may be too high for older adults and may discourage some of them.”
