Kenneth Gardner, Contributor
MOST ASPECTS of our physiological functioning peak at about 30 years of age and then start declining. The decline in physical capacity is characterised by a decrease in the amount of oxygen used by our body; the amount of air that we inhale and exhale; the strength of our heart muscles; changes in the volume of blood pumped with each heartbeat and the decrease in joint mobility.
Regular exercise has been used to alter substantially the rate of decline of our functional status. Reducing the decline of our body functions is important in improving the quality of life and experiencing longevity. A standard diet of 30 per cent of calories from fats, 12 per cent from proteins and 58 per cent from carbohydrates, along with regular physical exercise, have been considered as the foundation for maintaining good health and slowing the ageing process.
Regular physical endurance exercise will increase the amount of oxygen consumed. This can be increased by as much as 30 per cent in older persons. Persons in their 70s, who exercise regularly, have shown the equivalent oxygen consumption to youngsters in their 20s who are sedentary. Regular endurance exercise can improve your cardiovascular function, cellular metabolism. body composition, psychological and emotional well-being. Older persons who exercise regularly have stronger, heavier, denser bones than those who do not exercise. That is why older sedentary persons suffer bone fractures more easily and take a longer time to recover.
Regular endurance exercise substantially reduces the risk of chronic disabling diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and the list goes on. Physical exercise can help to prevent, reduce and manage chronic health problems and reduce the amount of medication needed and obviously save much of the expense for medication.
CELEBRATE MORE BIRTHDAYS
Resistive exercises build strength, flexibility exercises improve mobilisation of the joints and maintain your functional independence as you celebrate more birthdays. Regular physical exercise is the best age-proofing strategy in terms of comparative cost, the price is the time that you devote to exercise.
Some seniors in their 70s are still running in marathon races that are 26-plus miles. Some of these persons actually started to run when they were in their 50s and 60s. There are many young persons who cannot walk the distance of a marathon. Everybody can benefit from physical exercise because one is never too old to start.
An exercise prescription can be written for everyone. Persons who cannot do the exercise themselves are provided for with the use of passive exercise which is an important method of the therapeutic protocol for rehabilitating persons who have experienced paralysis. Remember that exercise is medicinal and life is about movement which implies progress, not to be static and regress; "when you rest too long you rust."
Living longer largely means avoiding heart disease, and exercise has been used to help diagnose, prevent and treat heart problems and rehabilitate those who have sustained heart attacks. The famous 'Harvard Farmington Heart Study' found that persons with high levels of high-density lipoprotein (the good cholesterol) experience the 'longevity syndrome'; they tend to live well into their 80s and 90s without heart disease. Persons who do endurance exercise regularly have been found to have high levels of high density lipoprotein and they also experience improvements in their daily activities.
Kenneth Gardner is an exercise physiologist at the G.C. Foster College of Physical Education; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.
