Moderate Exercise Keeps Elderly Walking

Moderate daily exercise among frail elderly people can mean the difference between performing everyday duties and being housebound, a U.S. clinical study has found. Participants included two groups (total of 1,635) sedentary men and women ages 70 to 89 who could walk a quarter mile – two or three blocks around the neighborhood – within 15 minutes but were at risk of losing that ability. One group walked 150 minutes a week and did strength, flexibility and balance training. A control group attended health education classes and performed stretching exercises. Moderate physical activity helped aging adults maintain their ability to walk at a rate 18 percent higher than older adults who did not exercise.