Older adults who exercise regularly have better quality of life: Study

Researchers have discovered that when persons are over sixty there is a correlation between less physical activity and a lower quality of life The study was published in the journal Health and Quality of Life OutcomesThe same held true for increases in sedentary activities like TV watching and reading This according to the researchers emphasises the necessity of motivating older persons to keep activePhysical activity is known to lower your chance of developing a number of diseases including heart disease stroke diabetes and cancer especially when it is moderately intense and increases your heart rate Adults should engage in at least 150 minutes of moderateintensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorousintensity exercise each week according to the NHSAdditionally it is advised that older persons alternate extended stretches of inactivity with brief moments of light movement or at the very least standing as this has clear advantages for their healthA team led by researchers at the University of Cambridge examined activity levels among 1433 participants aged 60 and above using accelerometers The participants had been recruited to the EPIC European Prospective Investigation into CancerNorfolk studyAlongside this the team also looked at healthrelated quality of life a measure of health and wellbeing that includes pain ability to care for yourself and anxietymood Participants were given a score between 0 worst quality of life and 1 best based on their responses to a questionnaire Lower quality of life scores are linked with an increased risk of hospitalisation worse outcomes following hospitalisation and early deathParticipants were followed up an average of just under six years later to look at changes in their behaviour and quality of lifeOn average six years after their first assessment both men and women were doing around 24 minutes less moderatetovigorous physical activity per day At the same time the total sedentary time increased by an average of around 33 minutes a day for men and around 38 minutes a day for womenThose individuals who did more moderatetovigorous physical activity and spent less time sedentary at their first assessment had a higher quality of life later on An hour a day spent more active was associated with a 002 higher quality of life scoreFor every minute a day less of moderatetovigorous physical activity measured six years after the first assessment quality of life scores dropped by 003 This means that an individual who spent 15 minutes a day less engaged in such activity would have seen their score drop by 045Increases in sedentary behaviours were also associated with poorer quality of life a drop in the score of 0012 for everyone minute a day increase in total sedentary time six years after the first measurement This means that an individual who spent 15 minutes a day more sitting down would have seen their score drop by 018To put the results into a clinical context a 01 point improvement in quality of life scores has previously been associated with a 69 per cent reduction in early death and a 42 per cent reduction in risk of hospitalisationDr Dharani Yerrakalva from the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Cambridge said Keeping yourself active and limiting and where you can breaking up the amount of time you spend sitting down is really important whatever stage of life youre at This seems to be particularly important in later life when it can lead to potentially significant improvements to your quality of life and your physical and mental wellbeingBecause the team measured physical activity and sedentary behaviour at different points of time they say they can be reasonably confident that they have shown a causal link that is that quality of life improves because people remain more physically active for exampleDr Yerrakalva added There are several ways in which improvements in our physical behaviours might help maintain a better quality of life For example more physical activity reduces pain in common conditions such as osteoarthritis and we know that being more physically active improves muscle strength which allows older adults to continue to care for themselves Similarly depression and anxiety are linked to quality of life and can be improved by being more active and less sedentaryAlso Read Lower Trap Exercises Strengthen Your Back and Improve Your PostureThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever