Study Shows Exercise Can Extend Lifespan
We all know that exercise is the cornerstone of losing weight and maintaining good health, and a new study proves that regular exercise can extend your lifespan.
The government-sponsored analysis -- the largest such study ever -- found that a regimen of brisk walking 30 minutes a day at least four to six days a week was enough to halve the risk of premature death from all causes.
The study's only caveat: only men were examined. The 15,660 patients were treated in VA medical centers and ranged in age from 47 to 71. One can only hope that a similar study is being conducted on women, and one can only assume that the results would be similar.
"The point is, it takes relatively little exercise to achieve the benefit we found," said Peter Kokkinos, director of the exercise testing and research lab in the cardiology department of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
"What's really important to understand is that you don't need special clothes, special memberships, special equipment," added Alice H. Lichtenstein, director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Lab at Tufts University's USDA Human Nutrition Research Center in in Boston and former chairwoman of the American Heart Association's nutrition committee.
Like the experts said, you don't need expensive equipment to help your residents live healthy lives. Encourage residents to get moving, even just walking up to 30 minutes a day.