Why You Should Stay Active While You Age

Staying active and fit matters, especially as you age. Regular physical activity can help you prevent disease and injury in your “golden years”. In grade school you learned how important exercise is. Now to refresh you on why it’s so important…

Physical activity boosts the metabolism and keeps excess weight off. Regular exercise enhances the immune system, improves mood, helps prevent depression, and promotes cardiovascular health. Exercise has been shown to delay or prevent osteoporosis, and even certain types of cancer. Exercise done regularly also helps balance and control blood lipids, diabetes, and obesity.

On the other hand, a lifestyle of inactivity can be very dangerous. When you combine years of poor eating and inactivity, not only do you miss out on the benefits mentioned above, but you compromise and weaken your cardiovascular system.

If you want to receive benefits to your cardiovascular system and lungs, you must perform any moderate (or more strenuous) activity for at least 30 minutes on most days of the week. Here are some suggestions of activities and exercises that you can enjoy safely:

• brisk walking
• hiking
• stair-climbing
• gardening
• yard work
• swimming
• dancing
• tennis or racquetball
• golf

A simple tip to remember is that the 30-minutes of activity can be broken up into smaller chunks of time at different times of the day. What’s important is to get into a routine and to develop an active lifestyle. Remember, movement is one of the keys to life!