Oldies can live longer by stamina training

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Senior adults can up their age by doing stamina training, a study suggests. Stamina training not only helps in boosting the stamina but can also help older adults in living a longer life.

With multiple benefits, it can also reduce the risk of cardiac arrest and cancer in seniors.

The findings showed that older adults who trained for strength at least twice a week had 46 percent lower odds of dying soon. They also had 41 percent lower odds of cardiac death and 19 percent lower odds of dying from cancer.

But although the health rewards of physical activity and aerobic exercise are well established, less data have been collected on strength training.

Over the past decade, researchers have demonstrated benefits of strength training for strength, muscle mass and physical function, as well as for improvements in chronic conditions such as diabetes, osteoporosis, low back pain and obesity.

Researchers examined data of more than 30,000 adults of age 65 and older from the 1997-2001 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) linked to death certificate data through 2011.

During the survey period, more than 9 percent of older adults reported strength training at least twice a week.

(With IANS inputs)