Exercising at Any Age Benefits Heart Health: Study

Shedding excess weight at any age can benefit cardiovascular health, according to a study.

Obesity is a number one risk factor for deadly health conditions like cancer, type-2 diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol levels, cancer, heart problems and arthritis. Various researches suggest regular exercises and physical activities can increase life span by protecting against fatal diseases. But, many individuals after reaching a certain age assume they don't need exercise or working out harms their body. Recently, scientists discovered exercising provides long term benefits for heart health and functioning proving there are no age constraints to get in shape.

Their study used records of the UK Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development (NSHD) of 1273 British men and women who were followed from their birth and in later years. The subjects' weight during childhood, at age 35, 43 53 and 60 to 65 were recorded to note the impact of obesity on cardiovascular diseases. Experts also used cardiovascular phenotyping to measure carotid intima media thickness-a biomarker for heart diseases when participants were aged between 60 and 64.

It was observed that only 2 percent of older participants were able to achieve weight loss by exercising and had significant reduction of the risk factors for heart diseases like narrowing of carotid arteries, raised systolic blood pressure and diabetes. These findings highlight the importance of maintaining stable BMI in adulthood and later years. Older individuals who are obese will gain more health benefits by practicing healthy eating and exercising habits than those with normal body weight.

"Our study is unique because it followed individuals for such a long time, more than 60 years, and allowed us to assess the effect of modest, real-life changes in adiposity," said John Deanfield, study author and professor at the  University College London, in a press release.

"Our findings suggest that losing weight at any age can result in long-term cardiovascular health benefits, and support public health strategies and lifestyle modifications that help individuals who are overweight or obese to lose weight at all ages," he added

The authors believe the research encourages the development of public policies to promote heart health and physical activities in seniors to curb obesity-related disorders.

The clinical research was funded by the Medical Research Council and the British Heart Foundation. More information is available online in the journal The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology.