Elderly people who load the dishwasher, climb stairs
or just keep moving are bound to live longer than
their sedentary counterparts, a study said.
The study of 302 people aged 70 to 82 found those
who engaged in more physical activity -- not necessarily
formal exercise -- were much less likely to die than
those who did not move as much.
"The message here is that for older adults, any movement
is better than no movement and that this can come
from usual daily activities," said study author Todd
Manini of the U.S. National Institute on Aging in
Bethesda, Maryland.
Among the one-third of study participants who expended
the most energy, the risk of death over the six-year
study period was 12 percent, compared to nearly 25
percent among the one-third who were least active.
Although the study did not specify why moving around
might lessen the risk of dying, Manini said any exercise
can help ward off ailments from heart disease to cancer.
Instead of relying on the word of the study subjects
about their activities, they were given specially
formulated water to drink that allowed researchers
to measure levels of carbon dioxide emitted in their
urine. Carbon dioxide is released during physical
activity.
The people in the highest activity group were more
likely to work for pay, not just volunteer occasionally,
and also climbed two or more flights of stairs per
day, said the study, which was published in this week's
Journal of the American Medical
Association.
An editorial published in the journal called the
findings "provocative," and suggested using a device
to measure the intensity of activity to verify the
results.
"Higher levels of activity energy expenditure appear
to be protective and it is relevant to discuss how
much and what type of physical activity is required
to achieve these benefits," wrote William Haskell
of the Stanford University School of Medicine and
Steven Blair of the Cooper Institute in Dallas.
