If you want to live longer and you’re already senior age, here’s what you can do.
You shouldn’t just cross your fingers and hope you have “good genes.”
There’s more you can do, as an older adult, to live longer than just avoid smoking and limiting how much you drink alcohol.
There’s more you can do than keeping your weight in a healthy range.
It’s called physical activity – but wait, you need to read more on this seemingly no-brainer of a way to avoid premature death.
Older adults who participate weekly in many different types of leisure time activities, such as walking for exercise, jogging, playing pickleball or tennis, or lap swimming, may have a lower risk of death from any cause including cancer and cardiovascular disease.
The study showing this finding comes from the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health.
How the Study Was Done
Data was collected from 272,550 adults 59 to 82 who had completed questionnaires about their leisure-time activities as part of the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study.
The researchers looked at whether participating in equivalent amounts of seven different exercise and recreational activities — jogging, cycling, racquet sports, swimming, golf, fitness walking and miscellaneous aerobic exercise — was associated with lowered risk of early death.
Getting the recommended amount of physical activity per week through any combination of these activities was associated with a 13% lower risk of death from any cause compared with older people who didn’t do any of these activities.
When they looked at the role of each activity individually, racquet sports was associated with a 16% reduction in risk and jogging with a 15% reduction.
However, all the activities investigated were similarly associated with lower risks of death.
Can’t make time for physical activity? Then make time for disease.
The second edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults engage in 2.5 to five hours of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, or 1.25 to 2.5 hours of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, each week.
Older adults in the study who exceeded the recommended levels of physical activity had an even greater reduction in the risk of death, but there were diminishing returns as activity levels increased even more so.
Even people who did some recreational activity, though less than the recommended amount, had a 5% reduction in risk of mortality than those who avoided any of the activities studied. Again, they were:
- Cycling
- Walking for exercise
- Swimming laps
- Racquet sports
- Golf
- Jogging
- Other aerobic activity
These activities were also associated with a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Racquet sports were associated with the greatest risk reduction of cardiovascular deaths (27%).
Jogging was associated with the greatest reduction in risk of cancer deaths (19%).
Looks like racquet sports and jogging/running lead the way as part of a health and longevity approach to living for older people.
Of course, if you don’t care for racquet sports or jogging, the study shows there are many more to choose from.
Older and want to hire a personal trainer?
When I was a personal trainer, I had numerous older clients.
Here are guidelines of you’re considering hiring a personal trainer as part of your quest to reduce the risk of early mortality and avoid cardiovascular disease and cancer.
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Credentials: Ensure the trainer is certified by a reputable organization, such as the American Council on Exercise (ACE) or National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM).
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Experience: Look for a trainer with experience working with older adults and knowledge of age-related health concerns, such as joint pain or low back pain.
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Personalized Plan: Choose a trainer who will develop a customized fitness plan tailored to your specific goals, abilities and limitations.
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Communication: Ensure they are clear and patient in explaining exercises and providing encouragement.
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Variety: A trainer should offer a mix of activities, including strength, aerobic and flexibility exercises, to maximize health benefits.
Lastly, be leery of trainers who seem to treat their senior age clients like children.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified by the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness, where she was also a group fitness instructor, she trained clients of all ages and abilities for fat loss and maintaining it, muscle and strength building, fitness, and improved cardiovascular and overall health.
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