August 29, 2016.
According to a study conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Oulu in Finland, playing sports, even moderately, after 65 years, halves the risk of death from cardiovascular causes.
Even moderate physical activity
Finnish researchers sought to find what was the link between physical activity, heart disease and death in the elderly. To do this, they followed nearly 2,500 people aged 65 to 74, from 2001 to the end of 2013. During these 12 years, the people participating in the experiment had to describe their physical activity and their lifestyle.
Of these 2,500 people, 197 people died as a result of cardiovascular disorders or accidents and 416 were victims of a more or less serious cardiac event. What the researchers found, however, is that moderate physical activity reduced the risk of cardiovascular events by more than 30%. The more physical activity, the lower the risk.
Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular causes
Furthermore, moderate and vigorous leisure-time physical activity was associated with a reduction in the risk of death from cardiovascular causes, by 54% and 66%, respectively.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), people aged 65 or over should practice at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity endurance activity or at least 75 minutes of sustained intensity endurance activity, per week. Endurance activity should be practiced in periods of at least 10 minutes.
While we know how much regular physical activity is necessary, we don’t always think that this activity shouldn’t decrease with age. Sedentary lifestyle does a lot of damage, especially in the elderly.
You might also like: Sport – Exercise, no excuses!
