Dr's Casebook: You can start exercising whatever your age

Dr Keith Souter writes: After major sporting events young people are often stimulated to take up a sport or start to exercise. But it is not just youngsters that should consider being more active. The fact is it is never too late to get active. Research studies from both Norway and England show that older people benefit from exercising and reduce their risks of many illnesses and of early death.

A Norwegian study looked at older men and exercise. It involved nearly six thousand men aged 40 to 50 who had health checks in 1972 and again in 2000 and then in 2012. They were divided into three groups according to recorded activity. Sedentary men said they spent a lot of time reading or watching TV. Moderate activity men did some exercise, sport or heavy gardening for at least four hours a week. Vigorous activity men did some hard training or played competitive sport several times a week.

Over the follow up period two thousand men died. Of these, 51 per cent were from the sedentary group. This compared with a quarter in each of the moderate and vigorous groups. They found that just half an hour of moderate activity six days a week was associated with 40 per cent lower risk of death.

Significantly, men who moved from the sedentary to the moderate group, lowered their risks dramatically.

The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing looked at 3,500 people with an average age of 64 years who were followed up for ten years. They also divided people into inactive, moderate or high exercisers. One fifth of the participants were regarded as ‘healthy agers,’ who stayed physically and mentally fit and active and did not develop chronic conditions or a disability.

The good news is that those who were inactive at the start, but who became active over the course of the study by walking and swimming or playing golf once or twice a week reaped the benefits and reduced their risk of death by 25 per cent. So, it is never too late to start exercising to improve your health.