Truth: Regular exercise has key benefits for the brain and body that include helping to counteract some of the negative effects of aging.
Researchers behind a study published this summer in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that older people who spent less time sitting and more time moving had fewer signs of encroaching heart disease — as measured by key markers of damage in the blood.
The scientists had 1,600 British volunteers ages 60 to 64 wear heart-rate sensors for five days. They analyzed the participants' activity levels and compared them to indicators of heart disease such as cholesterol precursors and a substance called interleukin-6. Overall, the participants with more activity had lower levels of all of the negative biomarkers.
"It's important to replace time spent sedentary with any intensity level of activity," said Ahmed Elhakeem, the study's author and a professor of epidemiology at England's University of Bristol.