Exercise Keeps The Old Young
Yeah, It's Better Than Television... Do you love television? Are you up on all the latest gossip form American Idol, the soaps and the nighttime dramas? Well, enjoy it all while you can. Chances are your body is on a downward slide while your mind gobbles up all the broadcast goodness.
It's never been much of a secret: exercise is good for you.
Researchers continue to prove we benefit from exercise, especially as we age. The latest study, from the Stanford University Department of Medicine, looked at 4 groups of people between 50 and 72 years of age. The groups were: normal-weight active, normal-weight inactive, overweight active and overweight inactive.
The scientists followed over 800 individuals for a period of thirteen years. They assessed their physical health and capabilities at the start of the study, and then on an annual basis thereafter.
The primary factor they considered was the level of activity. The results were not surprising. The physically active, regardless of weight, fared better in terms of physical capabilities. The team used a measurement of physical disability to compare the groups.
So, though the results are not surprising, the following distinctions are: the normal weight physically active participants averaged 303 minutes of exercise per week - the normal-weight inactive just 16 minutes. That's a difference of 287 minutes each week, almost 5 hours. The overweight groups showed a similar pattern: the active averaged 251 minutes of exercise each week, while the inactive averaged only 12 minutes. That difference is almost 4 hours.
What's the answer? Well, for starters, learn to love television a little bit less. Then, learn to love the outdoors a whole lot more. Exercise is not complicated. All it takes is one hand and two feet. Use the one hand to open the door - then use the two feet to walk on down the sidewalk.
posted by tim at 7:32 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home