Exercise backed for elderly

Thursday June 16th, 2016

Pensioners should set a target of achieving at least 15 minutes a day of exercise, a conference has heard.

This target is reasonable, a European conference was told.

Dr David Hupin of the University Hospital of Saint-Etienne, France, said: "It is well established that regular physical activity has a better overall effect on health than any medical treatment. But less than half of older adults achieve the recommended minimum of 150 minutes moderate intensity or 75 minutes vigorous intensity exercise each week."

Dr Hupin presented his latest research at a European Society of Cardiology event in Sophia Antipolis, France.

It also appears in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. His team used figures from a group of 1,011 men and women in France, recruited at age 65 and followed for 12 years. They also looked at information on an international group of 122,417 men and women, aged 60, followed for about ten years.

Participants' level of physical activity was measured as minutes per week, of different levels of exertion. This showed that 15 minutes of daily exercise such as a brisk walk was linked with a 22% lower mortality risk among older adults. Mortality risk reduced in as the level of exercise increased, with a high activity level associated with a 35% lower mortality risk.

"These two studies show that the more physical activity older adults do, the greater the health benefit," said Dr Hupin. "The biggest jump in benefit was achieved at the low level of exercise, with the medium and high levels bringing smaller increments of benefit.

"We think that older adults should progressively increase physical activity in their daily lives rather than dramatically changing their habits to meet recommendations. Small increases in physical activity may enable some older adults to incorporate more moderate activity and get closer to the recommended 150 minutes per week."

Hupin, D. et al. Even a low-dose of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity reduces mortality by 22% in adults aged 60 years: a systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine 3 August 2015 doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2014-094306

Tags: Europe | Elderly Health | Fitness

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