Bruce
Researchers say being fit may reduce risk of death among older men.
The AP (1/23, Stengle) reports that the "more fit you are, the longer you're likely to live," according to a study published Tuesday online in the journal Circulation. Peter Kokkinos, Ph.D., of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and colleagues, recruited 15,660 participants for the largest study which examines "the link between fitness and mortality." The researchers used a treadmill test "to determine the fitness level of the veterans at facilities in Washington, D.C., and Palo Alto, Calif." The participants had an average age of 60, were divided "into four categories ranging from 'low fit' to 'very highly fit,'" and followed "for an average of eight years to see who was still alive." At the end of the follow-up period, the researchers found that "as fitness levels went up, the risk of death dropped for both blacks and whites." This result also applied to blacks and whites with heart disease, the authors said. WebMD (1/23, Hitti) also covers the story.
4 comments:
Did this story have a sidebar giving statistics as to how many "almost fit" old guys had heart attacks trying to catch Very Fit ER doctors as they raced up and over a hill?
It did not state that explicitly but one can infer that would be the case. But still not so bad as the guy in the white pickup truck passing both cyclist while puffing on his Marlboro.
The article reminds of the Archie Campbell quip when told how to have a long life. "If I don't smoke, don't drink, and have to exercise every day, why would I want to live a long time?"
I like the "fit old guys" better than the "Fat old guys" moniker.
FIT would be nice, but suspect FAT is more generally applicable. I don't fool with moniker any more. Got my fingers slapped on last attempted revision.
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