As you age, the body undergoes a variety of changes, but the bottom line is everything tends to slow down: metabolism, growth, muscle mass, and even efficiency in walking.
Thus, you are advised to exercise at least three times a week for no less than 30 minutes. While there are many different types of good exercises, seniors are better off with running than walking.
According to a brand-new study composed of researchers from Humboldt University of University of Colorado Boulder, active seniors or those who are engage in a stronger aerobic exercise such as running have a better walking efficiency than those who simply walk for exercise. To be more specific, they can walk like a 20-year-old!
Meanwhile, those who have chosen walking as a form of exercise still have the same walking efficiency as sedentary seniors.
To generate this result, the team conducted a research among 30 healthy volunteers who are 65 years old on the average. They are divided equally between males and females. As active seniors, they are engaged in either walking or running no less than thrice a week for at least 30 minutes over the past six months prior to the study.
The researchers then instructed the volunteers to walk at different speeds on a special treadmill. After each speed, their oxygen use and production of carbon dioxide were measured. They also used some information from a dissertation that focused on energy expended by sedentary adults, including younger ones. These data had been obtained using the similar test.
Running itself doesn't exempt active senior runners from going through the process of aging. Their energy capacity also declines just like the rest of the adults, like the sedentary ones. However, the activity slows such process more efficiently, and this is a great deal since a better capacity to walk means an easier life.