Exercise & health "in old age" (70's & 80's)

Another large study - showing the benefits of even a small amount of exercise. An article from The Guardian (UK).

Elderly men who do 30 minutes of physical activity six days a week are likely to live longer than their couch-potato counterparts, researchers said Friday. For men in this age group, just a small amount of regular exercise – regardless of intensity – is as beneficial as giving up smoking, they said.

The researchers were struck by the impact of regular physical exercise during the 2000-2011 period, when the volunteers were aged in their seventies or eighties.

“A mortality reduction of 40% was associated with a moderate use of time (30 minutes, six days a week) irrespective of whether the activity was light or vigorous,” their study said.

Among those who exercised vigorously – defined as hard training several times a week – the lifespan was as much as five years longer than among those who were sedentary.

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Volunteers who took part in the study after the relaunch in 2000 were the healthiest survivors of the original batch, which potentially skews some of the data.

But even when this is taken into account, the benefits of regular exercise were clear, the authors said.