October 13, 2020
- By Howard E. LeWine, MD, Chief Medical Editor, Harvard Health Publishing
If you want to stay healthy and mobile well into old age, start walking today—even if you’ve already edged into “old age.”
That’s the conclusion of a report from the Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders (LIFE) trial. The trial included more than 1,600 men and women between the ages of 70 and 89. None exercised regularly, and all were relatively frail. Half were randomly assigned to an exercise program that included daily walking plus strength and balance exercises. The other half took part in education workshops on healthy aging that included some gentle stretching routines.
After 2½ years, the volunteers in the exercise group were 28% less likely to have become disabled (defined by the inability to walk about 400 yards without help) compared to those in the education group. They were also 18% less likely to have had any episode of physical disability.
The improvements, while promising, probably don’t capture the real benefit of exercise. That’s because some of the people in the workshops, who learned how exercise can lead to healthier aging, became more physically active on their own. If none of the workshop and stretch people exercised, the results of the structured program would have been more impressive.
