Older age women must exercise to reduce death risk: Study

Older age women must exercise to reduce death risk

The benefits of regular physical activity extends far beyond weight management as research shows that prescribing exercise as treatment to older women helps reduce the risk of death in them.

Loss of muscle mass in the body is inevitable with age, and one of the major causes of muscle loss is sedentary lifestyle. According to the American Association of Retired Persons, after the age of 50 seniors lose muscle mass at the rate of about half a pound per year, especially if they don’t exercise. Older people achieve significant health benefits from physical activity.

Researchers at the Queensland University of Technology, Australia, found that along with the conventional treatments for physical and mental health, moderate to high intensity tailored exercise program is needed to lower the risk of death in older women above the age of 50 years.

The study led by Professor Anderson and QUT’s Charlotte Seib, reviewed the five years of research that looked at the impact of exercise on the mental and physical health in women above the age of 50 years.

“Studies clearly show moderate to vigorous intensity activity can have mental and physical health benefits, particularly when part of broader positive health changes,” Professor Anderson said. “When once we thought that 30 minutes of mild exercise a day was enough to improve health, research is now telling us that older women should be doing at least 30-45 minutes five times a week of moderate to high intensity exercise and by that we mean exercise that leaves you huffing and puffing.”

The exercise program must be tailored to ensure that it is a high intensity activity needed to obtain the positive sustained effects of exercise.
The study clearly revealed that the high intensity exercise over a sedentary lifestyle significantly lowers the risk of death.

Older adults who adhere to regular physical activity also experience less disability, enhanced physical function irrespective of the body mass. The women who are most active are more likely to survive than those who are least physically active.

“We have an ageing population and as a result promoting healthy ageing has become an important strategy for reducing morbidity and mortality,” said Professor Anderson. “The research also linked exercise to improvements in mental well-being.” As high intensity exercise not just boosts physical health, but also brain health.

Researchers noticed that older women were capable of undertaking a range of activities that is beyond simple walking. The study highlights that mid-to-later in life women are seen jogging, running, hiking, swimming and riding.

Hence, the healthcare professionals should develop exercise programs that are home-based and easy to follow as part of everyday activities.

Source: science world report

 


Alcohol consumption – 80,000 yearly deaths in the Americas

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Alcohol consumption is the direct cause of nearly 80,000 deaths in the Americas each year, according to a new study.

Published in the journal Addiction, the study analyzed yearly mortality rates from 16 countries in North and Latin America. The researchers focused on deaths that were specifically attributed to alcohol, meaning death would not have occurred without some form of alcohol consumption.

“Our purpose was to obtain more detailed information about alcohol mortality from countries in the region,” study co-author Dr. Maristela Monteiro, senior advisor on alcohol and substance abuse for the Pan American Health Organization, told FoxNews.com. “There are statistics from all these countries, but very few regions have specific alcohol mortality data, meaning [the information] we used usually is not reported or not collected.”

After combing through each country’s death statistics, Monteiro and her co-author Dr. Vilma Gawryszewski found that, between 2007 and 2009, alcohol was a ‘necessary’ cause of death for an average of 79,456 cases each year in North and South America. The researchers found that the biggest causes of these deaths included liver disease and alcohol poisoning.

“One important thing we knew from the medical literature but we also found in our data is that alcohol consumption is a cause of premature mortality,” Gawryszewski said. “The highest rates are among people in early age [dying before] the life expectancy in their countries.”

The countries with the highest rates of alcohol-related deaths were mostly in Central America, including El Salvador (27.4 out of 100,000 deaths each year), Guatemala (22.3 out of 100,000) and Nicaragua (21.3 out of 100,000).

Overall, men accounted for 84 percent of alcohol-necessary deaths, though the male-to-female ratio varied from country to country. In El Salvador, the risk of a man dying from an alcohol-necessary cause was 27.8 times higher than that of a woman, while in the United States and Canada, the risk was 3.2 times higher.

There were also differences in age groups for alcohol mortality between countries. In Argentina, Canada, Costa Rica and the U.S., the highest mortality rates occurred in individuals between 50 and 69 years of age. In Brazil, Ecuador and Venezuela, the highest mortality rates were seen in individuals between 40 and 49 years of age.

While these statistics may seem concerning on their own, Monteiro and Gawryszewski maintain their findings reveal that the overconsumption of alcohol is an even bigger issue than previously thought.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Monteiro said. “Of course there are many more alcohol-related deaths from injuries, traffic accidents, violence, and also chronic conditions – where alcohol has a role but is not the only cause. But the data does not cover that. We’re only getting the most severe cases.”

With this in mind, the researchers argue that more needs to be done to control the amount of alcohol individuals consume in North and South America.

“We know how to reduce mortality – with population-based policies, controlling availability and increasing price,” Monteiro said. “We need to prevent people from getting to that stage where you have alcohol dependence or you die.”

Source: Fox news