Human Interest
Exercise in old age could increase life expectancy─── 16:27 Mon, 18 May 2015
Oslo - Regular exercise in old age has as powerful an effect on life expectancy as giving up smoking, researchers say.
A study of 5,700 elderly men in Norway showed those doing three hours of exercise a week lived around five years longer than the sedentary.
The authors, writing in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, called for campaigns to encourage fitness in older people.
The study - conducted by Oslo University Hospital - found both light and vigorous exercise extended life expectancy.
Official advice in the UK recommends 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week in the over-65s.
BBC
