Posts Tagged ‘longevity’
While “close” may count in horseshoes, it isn’t usually a word we affiliate with success. In point of fact, very little in life, it seems, counts much at all if you don’t “hit the bull’s eye” or a “grand slam.” Luckily for some, this may not be entirely the case when it comes to an extended lifespan. As a chiropractor in Orlando, who has many senior patients and who is also a firm believer in the advantages of exercise at every age, I was very interested in the following study.
Researchers found that of the “least-fit” versus the “slightly more fit” in a recent study of nearly 4,400 healthy U.S. adults, roughly 20 percent with the lowest physical fitness levels were twice as likely to die over the nine years of the study as the 20 percent with the next-lowest fitness levels. (That is to say, those 20 percent who were close to the lowest fitness levels.) This is the time-honored “bad news/good news” type of result. It is undoubtedly bad news if you are a confirmed sofa spud. However, it is genuinely good news for those who haven’t quite hit rock bottom in the sedentary lifestyle department but are not, by any stretch of the imagination, “exertive.” Apparently, those people who continue to be just moderately fit as they grow older may live longer than those who are completely out-of-shape, the study suggests.
The study included 4,384 middle-aged and senior men and women whose fitness levels were determined during exercise treadmill tests sometime between 1986 and 2006. For approximately nine years thereafter, the researchers pursued the study groups progress. Such factors as obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure were considered in the study. This, in and of itself, accentuates the importance of physical fitness itself. In an email to Reuters Health, Dr. Sandra Mandic, of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, and lead researcher of the study wrote: “Our findings suggest that a sedentary lifestyle, rather than differences in cardiovascular risk factors or age, may explain the two-fold higher mortality rates in the least-fit versus slightly more fit individuals.”
Nearly two-thirds of the least-fit study participants were not getting the minimum recommended amount of exercise, which is at least 30 minutes of moderate activity (like brisk walking) five or more days a week. “These results emphasize the importance of improving and maintaining high fitness levels by engaging in regular physical activity,” Mandic said, “particularly in poorly-fit individuals.”
After separating the study group participants by fitness levels, the researchers found that 13 percent of those who were in slightly better shape had died during the study period. But, 25 percent of the least-fit participants had died during the same period. Among adults in the most-fit group (the ones who “hit bull’s eyes and grand slams,” so to speak) only 6 percent died during the follow-up period.
The notable finding was that overall, the five fitness-level groups showed little difference in their reported exercise practices over their adult lives, but where they contrasted was their activity levels in recent years. “Since it is recent physical activity that offers protection,” Mandic said, “it is important to maintain regular physical activity throughout life.”
In this particular study, irrespective of weight and other health issues such as those mentioned above, fitness is undeniably linked to longevity. Therefore, exercise is essential to the extension of our lifespan. And, of course, just think of the health advantages we could all experience if we worked our way up into the higher levels of fitness.
SOURCE: Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, August 2009.
Recently I read an article on sciencedaily.com how caffeine improved memory loss in aged mice raised to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. The article began with the angle that “Coffee drinkers may have another reason to pour that extra cup.” It continued by discussing a sequence of studies published online July 6 in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease that proved that caffeine considerably decreased abnormal levels of the protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease, both in the brains and in the blood of mice displaying symptoms of the disease.
But, before you make a decision to add another cuppa to your morning routine, let me add that also on the website, under “Related Stories,” were at least two articles reporting on studies that showed the non-beneficial effects of caffeine, “Morning Jolt of Caffeine May Mask Serious Sleep Problems,” and “Coffee Consumption Linked To Increased Risk Of Heart Attack For Persons With Certain Gene Variation.”
It seems to me that there are probably studies that will corroborate, or at least give credence to, any angle of thought, particularly when it is about age-related health issues. The “yin-yang” of caffeine benefits-deficits certainly aren’t, of course, the only ones. But, it did get me to considering about the likelihood that there will never be any “one thing” that will absolutely aid we, humans, in living longer, healthier lives. Humans are dynamic, biological creatures. We are actively engaged in life. We’re not bred in a cage! And, furthermore, though Alzheimer’s disease may be on the rise, obviously none of us has been “singled out to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease,” therefore caffeine isn’t entirely the “one thing” that will reverse or prevent it.
The human body is an elegant, intricate system that is designed to function homeostasis, that is to say, balance. Consequently good health is cultivated by a healthy, balanced attitude towards living, instead of our being briefly convinced by the latest health study and “doing” or “overdoing” one specific thing fooling ourselves into believing that it will reverse all of the other immoderate and unwholesome things we have done to our bodies.
As a doctor of chiropractic, I believe that every single day we have an opportunity to make decisions that will assist us to live longer, healthier lives, healthy choices for our body and mind. When it comes to what is good for our body, we know what actually “feels” right and what doesn’t. So, I just wanted to offer some thoughts for you to keep in mind the next time you reach for that extra cup of coffee or second glass of red wine. There is no “one thing” that will do “everything” for your good health.