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News : Age speeds decline, but fitness may cushion fall
Indianapolis Star - United States, July 31 2005 -- Exercise can't hold off the effects of aging, but it can improve an elderly person's chances of hanging onto an independent lifestyle, researchers said, citing a new study that brought both good and bad news.
A treadmill test given to different age groups showed that as people aged, their aerobic capacity -- the amount of oxygen consumed while exercising -- declined at higher rates with each passing decade whether they exercised or not.
The researchers knew the rate of decline would worsen with age, but they were surprised by the magnitude, said cardiologist Jerome L. Fleg, lead author of the study and a medical officer with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in Maryland.
"I guess we were a little disappointed that regular exercise didn't make a difference in the rate of decline," he said.
However, he pointed out, those who exercise still end up ahead.
"If I start higher, I'm going to end higher," Fleg said. "Having a higher aerobic capacity translates into being more fit."
For the study published in the online edition of the American Heart Association journal Circulation, researchers analyzed treadmill tests from 435 men and 375 women ages 21 to 87 taking part in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.
The aerobic capacity was measured about every four years for a median of 7.9 years.
During their 20s and 30s, the volunteers' aerobic capacity declined at a rate of 3 percent to 6 percent per decade. Those in their 70s and beyond faced a decline of more than 20 percent per decade, the researchers found.
"There is a decline with aging, but older people should be in programs to improve their regular function capacity because it will increase their independence," said Dr. Nieca Goldberg, a cardiologist and chief of Women's Cardiac Care at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "It'll offset some of the decline. What I really don't want people to take away from this study is 'don't bother.' "
(source : www.indystar.com)
