For Couch Potatoes, A Little Can Go A Long Way

Great news for all those older adult couch potatoes out there. You don’t need to become an exercise fanatic.

By Rick Banas of BMA Management, Ltd.

Here is some great news for all those older adult couch potatoes out there. You don’t need to become an exercise fanatic.

The results of two studies cited this summer in Science Daily shows that just adding some moderate physical activity into your life can have significant benefits.

One study was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology. The study showed that the people who benefitted the most from light or moderate physical activities, such as walking, were those who hardly did any physical activities at all. Just seven hours of moderate physical activities per week reduced the risk of death by nearly 25%.

To read more about this study by researchers from Cambridge University, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, click here.

The second study, which was published in the Frontiers of Aging Neuroscience, was of adults ages 59 to 80 who were sedentary (inactive) before participating in the study. The study compared those who joined a walking group versus those participated in stretching and toning exercises for a year.

The walkers had better brain function and did significantly better on cognitive tests, especially with those skills that tend to decline with age.

For more information on this study led by Art Kramer, psychology professor at the University of Illinois, click here.

Related studies on the ScienceDaily website suggest that exercise can reduce the risk of stroke in men and breast cancer in women. Use the search box and type in your topic keyword(s) to learn more about the subject of interest.


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Gardant Management Solutions has 20+ years of industry-acclaimed operational history in developing, managing and consulting for senior living, assisted living and memory care communities.