Alzheimer's Club

"Forget about a magic panacea for longevity. "There are clearly no pills or potions that have yet been established to increase longevity, and in fact for many of such pills and potions out there, there are real concerns about adverse effects," said Richard Hodes, director of the National Institute on Aging (NIA). He's talking about: HGH, testosterone, antioxidants and dietary supplements.

"People spend a lot of money on one kind of anti-aging remedy or another, and they have for thousands of years," said Peter Whitehouse, Case Western Reserve University professor of neurology and biomedical ethics, who studies age-related cognitive decline.

75% of Our Longevity is Determined by Environment

Alas, aging is still the fundamental fact of the life cycle, and the human mortality rate remains 100 percent. But we can, if we're fortunate, exercise some control over the timing of our death and what our life is like until that day comes. Hodes says studies have shown that about 25 percent of how we age is determined by genetics; the other 75 percent, by the environment. Which is to say, by tending to our environment and what we do within it, we can shift the odds of a longer and better life in our favor, at least a bit. Of course, the best life practices won't prevent that proverbial bus from running you down this afternoon, or some cruel cancer appearing on your liver in September. But if those things don't intrude, there are a few key lifestyle choices you can make that science has connected with long and healthy tenure on this earth. And they are fairly well established to reduce risk substantially for early onset of the diseases most likely to kill or disable you: heart disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia and some cancers. After all is said and done, exercise is the most potent elixir for a longer and healthier life.

Exercise Leads the Way

Recent research reinforces the fact that regular physical activity retards bodily decline, though the precise mechanism by which it might do that remains a mystery. Rigorous activity helps circulate blood throughout the body's tissues and organs, delivering nourishment and removing impurities. Exercise also helps maintain weight in a healthy range. Epidemiological studies associate a BMI of 27 or greater (27.8 for men and 27.3 for women) with increased sickness and death.

Calculate Your BMI

Some good research connects aerobic capacity with living longer. A 2002 study in the New England Journal of Medicine looked at 6,213 men with and without coronary artery disease. It showed a 12 percent improvement in survival for every unit of metabolic capacity increased through endurance training.

In a 1999 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), low levels of fitness increased men's risk of death from cardiovascular disease by about five times; overall risk of death from all causes increased about three times.

Experts also know muscle strength and balance can help protect against falls and related injuries that can compromise independence and, in the very old, lead to death.

More definitive data on fitness's protective benefits on life span is expected. NIA is developing a randomized trial to study how exercise affects people's risk for disabilities. This will be the first direct test of its kind to show "whether we can actually prevent decline in the living community," said Hodes.

Until that study's findings appear, make sure you get the Surgeon General's recommended 30 minutes of vigorous exercise daily. And read today's Lean Plate Club column for thoughts about incorporating strength training into your life..."

Source: Suz Redfearn Exercise Leads The Way For A Longer And Healthy Life. Washington Post (3 August 2005) [FullText]