Exercise Can Be Fountain of Youth for Middle-Aged
By Keith Mulvihill

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Middle-aged men have a shot at regaining some of their youthful vigor, the results of a small study indicate.

A 6-month program of moderate exercise--including walking, jogging or using a stationary bike for one hour, four to five times per week--turned back the clock 30 years for five middle-aged men.

The men were able to regain the cardiovascular fitness levels they had as 20-year-olds, according to a report published in the September 18th issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association (news - web sites).

``This study demonstrates that it's never too late to get back in shape,'' said lead author Dr. Darren K. McGuire, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, in an interview with Reuters Health.

The study began in 1966 when five healthy 20-year-old men went through a battery of tests that measured how their aerobic power--their body's ability to use oxygen--was affected by 3 weeks of total bed rest.

Thirty years later the same men underwent similar types of cardiovascular fitness tests before and after a 6-month exercise regimen.

Age, the researchers found, had not been kind to the men, whose weight had climbed 25%, on average. In addition, their body fat had doubled and their aerobic capacity had declined 11% over the 30 years. However, in a ``remarkable'' finding, 30 years of aging had done less to lower the men's aerobic power than had the 3 weeks of bed rest in 1966.

Moreover, through 6 months of exercise, the men were able to reverse the effects of aging and boost their aerobic power by about 15%.

In the study, the men started out exercising twice a week for 15 minutes, then gradually increased their activity each week so that at 6 months, they were getting approximately one hour a day, 4 or 5 days each week.

``The type of exercise doesn't matter just as long as you do it consistently,'' McGuire told Reuters Health. And he pointed out that it does not take a tremendous effort to recover and maintain substantial cardiovascular fitness.

``None of the fitness training would be considered high-intensity, and (it) excluded weight training,'' he said.

Improving cardiovascular fitness, McGuire noted, helps lower cholesterol, improve blood pressure, cut heart attack risk and enhance feelings of well-being.

SOURCE: Circulation 2001;104:1350-1357.