It's never too late to start a fitness routine.
That’s the latest word from Canadian researchers who found even frail older seniors who start exercising late in life experience significant gains in health and quality of life that begin to appear after only three months.
The study, carried out by Louis Bherer with the Université de Montréal, tracked the health of 83 seniors between the ages of 61 and 89 years, some of whom were considered frail, who took part in group exercises three times a week for 12 weeks. They then compared them to 40 other similar seniors did not follow the exercise program.
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All were evaluated at the start and end of the program for physical capacity, quality of life and cognitive health. The results showed that, compared to the non-exercising group, seniors who participated in the fitness program had notable improvements in physical capacity, endurance, cognitive performance (including executive functions, processing speed, and working memory) and quality of life.
The benefits were seen in both frail and non-frail seniors, according to the findings published online in the Journals of Gerontology.
"My team was able to demonstrate that sedentary and frail senior citizens can benefit from major improvements not only in terms of physical function but also brain function, such as memory, and quality of life," said Bherer.
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