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Story from the BBC website, Monday, 11 August 2008.

Running 'can slow ageing process'

Elderly joggers were half as likely to die prematurely from conditions like cancer than non-runners.

They also enjoyed a healthier life with fewer disabilities, the Stanford University Medical Center team found.

Experts said the findings in Archives of Internal Medicine reinforced the importance that older people exercise regularly.

Survival of the fittest

The work tracked 500 older runners for more than 20 years, comparing them to a similar group of non-runners. All were in their 50s at the start of the study.

Nineteen years into the study, 34% of the non-runners had died compared to only 15% of the runners.

Both groups became more disabled with age, but for the runners the onset of disability started later - an average of 16 years later.

The health gap between the runners and non-runners continued to widen even as the subjects entered their ninth decade of life.

If you had to pick one thing to make people healthier as they age, it would be aerobic exercise

Lead author Professor James Fries

Running not only appeared to slow the rate of heart and artery related deaths, but was also associated with fewer early deaths from cancer, neurological disease, infections and other causes.

And there was no evidence that runners were more likely to suffer osteoarthritis or need total knee replacements than non-runners - something scientists have feared.

At the beginning of the study, the runners ran for about four hours a week on average. After 21 years, their weekly running time had reduced to around 76 minutes, but they were still seeing health benefits from taking regular exercise.

Lead author Professor James Fries, emeritus professor of medicine at Stanford, said: "The study has a very pro-exercise message. If you had to pick one thing to make people healthier as they age, it would be aerobic exercise.

"The health benefits of exercise are greater than we thought."

Age Concern says many older people do not exercise enough.

Figures show more than 90% of people in the UK over 75 fail to meet international guidelines of half-an-hour moderate intensity exercise at least five times a week.

Gordon Lishman, director general, said: "This research re-confirms the clear benefits of regular exercise for older people.

"Exercise can help older people to stay mobile and independent, ensure a healthy heart, keep weight and stress levels under control, and promote better sleep.

"While younger people are barraged with encouragement to lead healthier lifestyles, the health needs of older people are often overlooked."

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Story from BBC website, Friday, 17 August 2007.

Exercise 'must be tough to work'

Jogging counts as vigorous activity
To be healthy, you really do need to break into a sweat when you exercise, say experts.
American College of Sports Medicine members are concerned official advice to do 30 minutes of gentle exercise each day is being misconstrued.

Some may take this to include a mere stroll to the car, Circulation reports.

People should do at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise five days a week, or 20 minutes of vigorous exercise, like jogging, three days a week, they say.

There are people who have not accepted, and others who have misinterpreted, the original recommendation

The sports scientists

There is confusion about what is the ideal amount and intensity of exercise to improve health.

All agree that regular exercise is essential. The World Health Organization has said 30 minutes of gentle exercise each day could be enough to sustain a minimum level of fitness.

Confusion

Recently, researchers at Queen's University, Belfast, found walking for half an hour on just three days a week gave similar fitness and blood pressure benefits to walking for 30 minutes five times a week.

The sports scientists, however, say this advice is misleading and could encourage people to do too little exercise.

"There are people who have not accepted, and others who have misinterpreted, the original recommendation.

"Some people continue to believe that only vigorous intensity activity will improve health while others believe that the light activities of their daily lives are sufficient to promote health," they told Circulation.

The authors include several experts who are on a high-level committee in the US which next year will announce America's new physical activity guidelines.

Their original recommendations in 1995 were quickly adopted by the WHO and by the UK government in 1996.

They now stress that adults need to top up their routine activities, such as casual walking and housework, with structured exercise.

THE NEW ADVICE FOR ADULTS AGED 18-65
30 mins of moderate exercise on five days of the week
or
20 mins of vigorous exercise on three days of the week
or
A combination of the moderate and vigorous exercise goals
plus
Two weekly sessions of activity (weight training) to maintain muscle strength
Source: American College of Sports Medicine

This should include vigorous (jogging) and moderate aerobic exercise (a brisk walk), as well as twice-weekly activities, such as weight training, which maintain or increase muscular strength and endurance.

People can do short bouts of exercise to count towards their weekly goals, but these must last for at least 10 minutes.

They say that even more exercise than this may have further benefits. However, research has also shown that too much exercise can be damaging to the body.

Indeed, the sports scientists say that some people - including pregnant women and those aged 65 or older - might be advised to do slightly less exercise and modify the type of activities they do.

Professor Paul Gately, professor of exercise and obesity at Leeds Metropolitan University, told The Guardian that it was difficult to give "one-size-fits-all" advice.

"People who are very overweight would have to do an hour of exercise a day just to maintain their weight if they aren't going to change their diets," he said.

Dr David Haslam, of the National Obesity Forum, questioned whether it was realistic to expect people to do two weight training sessions each week.

"I'd rather see healthy habits built into daily life - gyms aren't a sustainable habit for all," he said.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said it was watching the developments but added there were no plans to change current advice.