A new study found that people who start exercise even late in life can reap the benefit in good health.
Researchers analyzed the health of 3,454 people in England with an average age of 64 living in the community, according to a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine said on Monday. Throughout the course of the study, the participants described the amount of regular physical activity they did from 2002 to 2003 - repeating the process for every subsequent two years until 2011.
The study found that people who had a record of sustained and regular exercise -- meaning vigorous activity at least once a week -- boosted the likelihood of "healthy ageing" sevenfold compared to a lifestyle of persistent inactivity.
According to the study, exercise led to healthy aging which protected against major chronic ailments such as heart disease or stroke, diabetes, emphysema, or Alzheimer's disease as well as having good mental health.
"We demonstrate, for the first time, that participants who remained physically active through followup were most likely to age successfully," Simon Bacon of the Montreal Heart Institute at Concordia University and his co-authors concluded in the British journal of Sports Medicine.
"This study supports public health initiatives designed to engage older adults in physical activity, even those who are of advanced age."
At the end of the study, one in five of the participants was shown to have aged healthily, leading researchers to conclude that those who exercised were healthier.
"This study supports public health initiatives designed to engage older adults in physical activity, even those who are of advanced age," the authors added.
