According to Jarett Berry, a cardiologist at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, one must be vigilant about keeping physically active. Yes, in what they used to call “Middle Age.” Wasn’t that the time we thought would be a little slower, a tad less “vigorous,” an entitlement to ease up a bit? Not if you want to hit 85 says the good Dr. “If you are fit in mid-life, you double your chance of surviving to 85.”
Dr. Berry’s findings, presented last week in San Francisco at the American Heart Association’s Annual Epidemiology and Prevention Conference, are based on an analysis of 1,765 men and women who had physical examinations performed during the 1970’s and 1980’s at the Cooper Institute, the Dallas-based birthplace of the aerobics movement. Put another way: If you’re not fit in your 50’s, your projected life span “is eight years shorter than if you are fit,” Dr. Berry says.
So regular exercise is the most cogent weapon we have to ward off illness and fight disease- as it results in lower blood pressure, healthier cholesterol, and lower blood sugar.
Rest assured… there is a silver lining to all this before you start jogging, digging ditches, or playing singles tennis: Studies also indicate that exercise’s greatest impact occurs when individuals move from a sedentary lifestyle to embarking on regular moderate exercise regimens.
That’s encouraging. You go, Girl!