According to four new studies published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the regular performance of physical exercise throughout one’s life helps to improve overall health as we get older, along with making our brains and bodies work better.
The four articles are published in the Monday, January 25, 2010 issue of the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, a publication of the American Medical Association.
A commentary on these four articles is presented by Drs. Jeff Williamson and Marco Pahor. within the same Archives of Internal Medicine issue. The article “Evidence Regarding the Benefits of Physical Exercise” (Arch Intern Med. 2010;170(2):124-125) states: “Just over a quarter of a century ago, thought leaders in the aging research arena recognized that the promotion of increased physical activity was a relatively unexplored but potentially powerful avenue to promoting healthy aging.”
“Since that mandate to examine the role of exercise in preventive gerontology was issued, and during the past decade in particular, a growing body of evidence has accumulated that has given legs to the hypothesis that the promotion of physical activity may be the most effective prescription that physicians can dispense for the purposes of promoting successful aging.”
“Today it is recognized that virtually all of the diseases and conditions that lead to physical disability in older adults have as part of their etiology a component of personal lifestyle choices (eg, physical inactivity) in addition to biological aging and environmental exposure.”