Many types of exercise can help older people live longer

Credit: Nathan Cowley/ Pexels

Getting enough physical activity is vital for your health at any age.

Guidelines recommend that adults get at least 150 minutes (or two and a half hours) of moderate exercise each week. But does it matter what types of activities you do?

In a study from NIH, scientists found many types of exercise can help older people live longer.

They asked the question about older adults. They looked at data from more than 250,000 participants in a national survey.

People answered questions about their participation in seven different recreational activities.

These included running or jogging, swimming, racquet sports, golf, and walking.

The survey also tracked cycling and other aerobic exercises. Participants were first surveyed in the 1990s. Their average age was 70 when they responded to the last survey.

The researchers examined the risk of death during the 12-year study. They compared how different levels and types of physical activity lowered that risk.

They team found older adults who got the recommended amount of activity had a 13% lower risk of death compared with those who were inactive.

Playing racquet sports or running showed the greatest risk reductions. But all activities provided benefit.

The team suggests that the most important thing an inactive older adults can do to improve their health is to find an activity that they enjoy and can stick with.

If you care about health, please read studies about how eating eggs can help reduce heart disease risk, and herbal supplements could harm your heart rhythm.

For more information about health, please see recent studies about how espresso coffee affects your cholesterol level, and results showing vitamin D could help lower the risk of autoimmune diseases.

The study was conducted by Dr. Eleanor Watts et al.

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