Staying active enables people to age optimally and “buy extra years of function”, a study published today shows.
A study by King’s College, London and the University of Birmingham, England, found that people of different ages can have similar levels of function such as muscle strength, lung power and exercise capacity.
The study, published in The Journal of Physiology, recruited 84 men and 41 women, all aged 55 to 79 and all cycling enthusiasts.
Participants had to be able to cycle 100 km in under 6.5 hours (for men) and 60 km in 5.5 hours (for women) to be included in the study, which took place over 2 days at King’s.
A physiological profile of each participant was created that measured cardiovascular, respiratory, neuromuscular, metabolic, endocrine and cognitive functions, bone strength, and health and well-being. Their reflexes, muscle strength, oxygen uptake during exercise and peak explosive cycling power were also measured.
The results of the study showed that the effects of ageing were far from obvious and that people of different ages could have similar levels of function such as muscle strength, lung power and exercise capacity.
Although the maximum rate of oxygen consumption showed the closest association with age, scientists agreed that even this marker could not identify accurately the age of any individual.
Dr Ross Pollock, lead author of the paper from King’s College London, said: “An essential part of our study was deciding which volunteers should be selected to explore the effects of ageing. The main problem facing health research is that in modern societies the majority of the population is inactive.
“A sedentary lifestyle causes physiological problems at any age. Hence the confusion as to how much the decline in bodily functions is due to the natural ageing process and how much is due to the combined effects of ageing and inactivity.
“In many models of ageing, lifespan is the primary measure, but in human beings this is arguably less important than the consequences of deterioration in health. Healthy life expectancy – our healthspan – is not keeping pace with the average lifespan, and the years we spend with poor health and disabilities in old age are growing.”
Emeritus Professor Norman Lazarus, of King’s, added: “Inevitably, our bodies will experience some decline with age, but staying physically active can buy you extra years of function compared to sedentary people.
“Cycling not only keeps you mentally alert, but requires the vigorous use of many of the body’s key systems, such as your muscles, heart and lungs which you need for maintaining health and for reducing the risks associated with numerous diseases.”
• A report in JAMA Internal Medicine has shown that eating more whole grains could be linked to reduced mortality, especially deaths due to heart disease.
Dr Hongyu Wu, of the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, USA, examined the association between eating whole grains and the risk of death using data from 2 large studies and found that eating more whole grains was associated with lower total mortality and lower heart disease mortality but not cancer deaths.
Every 28 gram per day serving of whole grains was associated with 5% lower total mortality or 9% lower heart disease mortality.
But Victoria Taylor, of the British Heart Foundation, warned: “People with a higher intake of whole-grains also tended to have a healthier overall lifestyle and diet so it might not be the whole-grains alone that are having the benefit in relation to cardiovascular disease.
“But at this time of year when we are all making resolutions to eat better, switching to wholegrain versions of bread, breakfast cereals, pasta and rice is a simple change to make.”
The Journal of Physiology 5 January 2015
JAMA Internal Medicine 4 January 2015
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