AP42347

Science Summary

According to the article "Seniors Who Exercise Regularly Experience Less Physical Decline as They Age," the majority of adults over 65 are very inactive, but the individuals that do get enough physical exercise are more healthy and can do everyday tasks with ease (University of Missouri-Columbia). Lorraine Phillips, an associate professor in the MU Sinclair School of Nursing, and her colleagues studied 38 residents at an independent-living community four different times in one year. They studied walking speed, balance, and even the residents' ability to stand up after sitting down for a long period of time. The individuals that reported exercising regularly had maintained their physical abilities over time. Phillips suggests that muscle-strengthening exercises are very important in late adulthood, but rarely done; walking is the most common and comfortable form of exercise for people in late adulthood. Phillip also suggests that inactivity in late adulthood can lead to losing the ability to live independently. The CDC says that "individuals 65 years of age and older that have no limiting health conditions should do muscle-strengthening activities that work all major muscle groups at least two days a week" (University of Missouri-Columbia). Denise Boyd and Helen Bee's book Lifespan //Development// states that physical activity is most crucial in late adulthood and "has been clearly linked not only to greater longevity but also to lower rates of diseases such as heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, gastrointestinal problems, and arthritis" (438). This information explains why some individuals begin to have health issues after they retire because they aren't as physically active as they had been while working.

References:

University of Missouri-Columbia. "Seniors Who Exercise Regularly Experience Less Physical Decline as They Age." //ScienceDaily//. ScienceDaily, 2 Jun. 2014. Web. 1 Aug. 2014.

Boyd, Denise, and Helen Bee. //Lifespan Development//. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2012. Print.

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