The use of exercise for improving health has been the subject of research for several decades. Studies have shown unequivocally that exercise is beneficial for preventing and/or treating numerous medical conditions. With population increasing in age mainly in the first world countries, use of exercise to ameliorate the effect of illnesses related to aging is therefore of great potential value.

Despite this information, most members of the population do not incorporate physical activity into their daily routine. Because aging often is associated with diminished quality of life, we reviewed the literature to assess whether exercise is of value in maintaining a person’s functional capacity as he or she ages.

Available data suggest a positive relationship between higher levels of fitness and higher functional state/improved quality of life, both in healthy individuals and in those experiencing specific ailments commonly seen in an aging population.

Obstacle to Physical Exercising

Today, inspite of people being aware that exercise is a must do for a healthy life; very few people actually have the knowledge regarding the benefits of exercise.

Obstacles have been identified to prevent peoples ability to implement active lifestyles, thus affecting them from adopting routines of physical activity. Studies have shown that those obstacles vary depending on many factors, including;

• gender,
• age, and
• socioeconomic status.

For example, girls are more likely to report barriers such as embarrassment, sweating, concern over injury, or fear of criticism than boys. Conversely, boys are more likely to report that exercise will encroach on television or computer game time. Cost and lack of access to a safe facility have been reported in minorities in lower socioeconomic situations. Although barriers vary from group to group (and even from individual to individual), the bottom line is that, for most Canadians, the perceived benefits of becoming physically active do not outweigh the perceived costs. A deliberate effort to help Canadians better understand the pros and cons of this predicament should be emphasized.

General Benefits

The number of studies conducted regarding the impact of exercise on the Quality of life on the general population is very limited. In addition, studying exercise as it pertains to either health or QOL is complicated by the fact that there are several different types or modalities of exercise training, including but not limited to cardiorespiratory/aerobic training, interval/anaerobic training, strength training, balance training, and flexibility training.

In the few studies conducted, though it varied from individual to individual there was improvements in most of these areas; physical functioning, physical limitations, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, emotional limitations, and mental health. Important to note, most of these improvements were independent of weight change. Many patients implement an exercise program for weight loss. For many of them, as the rate of weight loss wanes, so does their enthusiasm. At this point, its the healthcare counsellor to assist the participants appreciate the Quality of life benefits accrued even when the rate of weight loss slows down.

The concept of healthy aging is important not only from a humanistic standpoint but also from an economic standpoint. Attempting to quantify the effect of physical activity on quality of life in older adults is difficult. In some studies its reported that, although exercise (particularly walking) clearly was associated with increased strength, aerobic capacity, and improvement in functional limitations, the evidence was less clear as to whether physical activity or exercise would prevent or minimize disability.

Much of the problem with analyzing such data is due to differences in study methodology, as well as differing definitions of physical activity and exercise. Although design limitations make full interpretation of the literature difficult, a 2010 review found strong evidence that programs of physical activity are associated with decreased impairment and improved functionality as well as “preliminary” support for the association between physical activity and disability in older adults. Additional support for the idea that physical activity enhances psychological well-being in the elderly was provided in a 2005 study performed at the University of Chicago at Urbana.

Researchers reported that fitness had a “robust” beneficial effect on the cognition of elderly adults, the greatest benefit being on what they called “executive control processes” (popularly termed “executive function”), referring to the ability of an individual to multitask. Of course, the extent of benefit provided by fitness training was dependent on other factors (length of the training intervention, type of training intervention, duration of training sessions, and even gender of participants). However, the authors reported that fitness training increased cognitive performance by an average factor of 0.5 standard deviations regardless of the task, training method, or the participant’s individual characteristics.

Much research has been conducted on the beneficial effects of exercise on the prevention and treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD). A Cochrane analysis published in 2001 concluded that an exercise-based program for cardiac rehabilitation reduced all-cause mortality by 27% . Although the information was limited by the fact that the studies reviewed contained predominantly male subjects and that ethnicity was inconsistently reported, the overall message was clear – exercise is an effective adjunctive therapy in the treatment of CAD.

There is evidence that those with Heart Failure who have an implantable defibrillator can benefit from moderate exercise training. For the past few decades, researchers have studied the effect of exercise on left ventricular dysfunction and the accompanying metabolic and autonomic neurologic derangements present in those with Heart Failure. It has been shown that exercise training can provide significant improvements in exercise tolerance as well as these physiologic parameters, even in those with moderate to severe Heart Failure.

Inconclusion, there is a positive relationship between higher levels of fitness and higher functional state/improved quality of life, both in healthy individuals and in those experiencing specific ailments commonly seen in an aging population. Therefore, members of the population are strongly encouraged to incorporate physical activity into their daily routine.

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Source : Current Sports Medicine Reports

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