Walking Could Help Men Reduce Death Risk

And we’re not talking about hours of walking around town either – just 20 to 40 minutes of brisk walking can reduce the risk of death in elderly men by as much as half according to a new study released in America this month.

Amazingly, for every two minutes of exercise between sedentary and more active older men found that the mortality rate dropped by 10% for every two minutes of exercise. The study compared the death rates in men aged between 70 and 92 with levels of fitness varying for none at all to heavy and regular exercise.

For every 100 men who died in the group with the lowest levels of fitness only 74 died in the next group up. 54 died in the moderately fit group while only 46 died in the high fitness category.

Obviously exercise becomes more of a challenge when you become older, so head of the study Fr. Peter Kokkinos warned that moderation is important and that trying to over exercise could prove to do more harm than good:

“The overall message is that although ageing and death are inevitable, the rate for both can be modulated by simply maintaining a physically active lifestyle at any age,”

“Although I cannot guarantee that regular exercise will add years to your life, I am quite certain that it will add life to your years. It is important nevertheless to emphasise moderation,”

What do you think? Do you think you’ll still be doing daily exercise when you’re in your 70s, 80s or 90s, or do you think you will have given up long before then? If these figures are anything to go by, we’re still going to be taking those walks!