12 years younger with exercise

12 years younger with exercise

Exercising regularly can make you look 12 years younger, new research has revealed.
And continuing to exercise when you are retired will allow you to live on your own for longer.
The study, from the University of Toronto in Canada, revealed that people age far more slowly if they take regular aerobic exercise.
Without frequent workouts, maxiumum aerobic power falls in men by up to half between the ages of 20 and 60.
Women begin to lose fitness aged around 35, with aerobic power also falling by up to half by the age of 60.
But cardiovascular training - which strengthens the heart and lungs - compensates for the onset of middle age, the researchers found.
Roy Shephard, from the university, said long -term aerobic training can maintain and restore aerobic power in later life.
The effect is equivalent of turning back the biological clock for older people by up to 12 years, he added.
Meanwhile, a similar study found that even small amounts of activity can help reduce stress.
Just 20 minutes of housework, gardening or walking a week can soothe tension.
An expert said: "A regular exercise programme can slow or reverse the loss of aerobic fitness, reducing the individual's biological age and prolonging independence.
"Progressive aerobic training can boost the aerobic power of elderly subjects by at least 5-6 ml/[kg.min], potentially delaying the loss of independence by as much as 10-12 years."