Regular exercise helps people with clogged arteries and elderly with disability

Regular physical exercise is good both for our mental and physical health, not even to mention the financial payoff of reduced medical expenses. 

Although getting regular exercise is important at all ages, the benefits can be especially pronounced as we grow older. What many people don't realize is that you don't have to be an exercise fanatic or "gym rat" to realize significant health benefits; even moderate-intensity physical activity such as home-based walking ca n yield significant rewards. For example, people with poor circulation in their legs may benefit from a home-based walking plan. 

According to a recent study on patients with peripheral artery disease, it was found that patients with home-based walking exercise increased their six-minute walk distance from baseline to 12-month follow-up from 355.4 meters to 381.9 meters. 

In another study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, it was found that getting regular exercise can help protect elderly adults against physical disability. The study involved 1,635 sedentary men and women aged 70 to 89 years who had physical limitations but were still able to walk 400 meters within 15 minutes without sitting and without the help of another person or a walker at the beginning of the study.

After an average of 2.6 years, subjects were evaluated for levels of major mobility disability and found that those elderly men and women who took part in a structured, moderate-intensity physical activity program had significantly less mobility disability than a control group who didn't exercise.

According to the study authors, “these results suggest the potential for structured physical activity as a feasible and effective intervention to reduce the burden of disability among vulnerable older persons.” And this can translate into a huge difference in quality of life.