For women over age 65, adding 30 minutes per day of
light physical activity may lower mortality risk
University of California - San Diego
That "to do" list of chores and errands could actually
provide a variety of health benefits, according to researchers at the
University of California San Diego School of Medicine. The study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, found women over age 65 who engaged in regular light physical activity had a reduction in the risk of mortality.
"Every movement counts," said Andrea LaCroix, PhD,
senior author of the study and professor in the Department of Family Medicine
and Public Health at UC San Diego.
"A lot of what we do on a daily basis is improving our health, such as walking to the mail box, strolling around the neighborhood, folding clothes and straightening up the house. Activities like these account for more than 55 percent of how older individuals get their daily activity."
"A lot of what we do on a daily basis is improving our health, such as walking to the mail box, strolling around the neighborhood, folding clothes and straightening up the house. Activities like these account for more than 55 percent of how older individuals get their daily activity."
The 6,000 women in the study, ages 65 to 99, were followed for
up to four and a half years. They wore a measuring device called an
accelerometer on their hip around-the-clock for seven days while going about
their daily activities.
The study found that 30 minutes of light physical activity per day lowered mortality risk by 12 percent while an additional 30 minutes of moderate activity, such as bicycling at a leisurely pace or brisk walking, exhibited a 39 percent lower risk.
The study found that 30 minutes of light physical activity per day lowered mortality risk by 12 percent while an additional 30 minutes of moderate activity, such as bicycling at a leisurely pace or brisk walking, exhibited a 39 percent lower risk.
"Improving levels of physical activity both light and
moderate could be almost as effective as rigorous regular exercise at preventing
a major chronic disease," said LaCroix, chief of the Division of
Epidemiology at UC San Diego School of Medicine. "We don't have to be
running marathons to stay healthy. The paradigm needs to shift when we think
about being active."
The study also found that the benefit of light physical activity
extended to all subgroups examined, including different racial/ethnic
backgrounds, obese and non-obese women, women with high and low functional
ability and women older and younger than age 80.
"Older people expend more energy doing the same kinds of
activities they did when younger, so their daily movement has to accommodate
for this," said LaCroix. "Think of it as taking a pill (activity
level) at different doses (amounts of time) depending on the age of the
patient. It's not one size fits all."
Current national public health guidelines recommend 150 minutes
of moderate to vigorous physical activity a week for adults. The guidelines
recommend persons 65 and older follow the adult guidelines to the degree their
abilities and conditions allow.
"Our study shows, for the first time using device-measured
light physical activity in older women, that there are health benefits at
activity levels below the guideline recommendations. With the increasing baby
boomer population in the United States, it is imperative that future health
guidelines recommend light physical activity in addition to more strenuous
activity," said LaCroix.
"When we get up from the couch and chair and move around, we are making good choices and contributing to our health."
"When we get up from the couch and chair and move around, we are making good choices and contributing to our health."
