Research that Supports Regular Exercise for Older Adults

Decades of research proves that regular exercise helps older adults offset the deleterious effects of aging. It has a significant impact on fall risk, chronic conditions, mobility, and hospitalizations. Don't wait until your loved one has an adverse event, get started today with Care In Home - personalized, one-on-one, in-home exercise training, in the safety of home.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15509476/ Prescribing exercise for the elderly: current research and recommendations

The potential for regular exercise to offset the deleterious effects of aging is well established. In fact, the pronounced health benefits attributed to regular exercise, including improvements in resting blood pressure, cholesterol profile, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, diabetes mellitus, and cognitive functioning, can be achieved even in those individuals who start physical conditioning programs later in life. Yet, despite these impressive data, approximately 70% of elderly Americans are physically inactive. This hypokinetic state negatively affects not only the health status of the elderly but significantly influences healthcare costs as more Americans are attaining octogenarian status. As such, it is vitally important for all healthcare workers to actively encourage elderly individuals to maintain or, in the case of non-exercisers, start an exercise program. Such recommendations may help to decrease comorbid conditions associated with the aging process, increase functional independence, and attenuate skyrocketing healthcare costs associated with treating the growing elderly population.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14507530/ Community exercise program use and changes in healthcare costs for older adults

Participants >=1x per week in an exercise program had 20% lower annual healthcare costs than control group.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32719618/ Perspective: Pragmatic Exercise Recommendations for Older Adults: The Case for Emphasizing Resistance Training

Resistance exercise is effective at maintaining muscle health with increasing age, and also has significant effects on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, type 2 diabetes (T2D), cancer, and mortality. We posit that resistance exercise is the most effective standalone exercise strategy for improving overall health in OAs and should be emphasized in future guidelines.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28066752/ Effects of Evidence-Based Fall Reduction Programing on the Functional Wellness of Older Adults in a Senior Living Community: A Clinical Case Study

Implementing an evidence-based fall reduction program into a senior living program has a positive effect on strength, balance, fall risk, gait speed, fall rate, hospitalizations, and amount of physical therapy intervention.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29129214/ - Older adults should be as physically active as their abilities and conditions allow. For substantial health benefits, older adults need to do aerobic, muscle-strengthening, and stretching exercises weekly, and balance activities as needed. 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30202313/ 

State of the Art Review: Physical Activity and Older Adults

Physical activity is an important component of a healthy lifestyle for all adults and especially for older adults. Benefits include increasing aerobic activity, increasing muscle-strengthening activity, and reducing sedentary or sitting behavior. Although the overall goal of the physical activity recommendations is to prevent chronic diseases and conditions from developing, many older adults are already affected. Therefore, suggested types of physical activity are described for specific diseases and conditions that are designed to mediate the condition or prevent additional disability. Finally, barriers to participation in physical activity specific to older adults are described, and possible solutions offered. Encouraging older adults to continue or even start a physical activity program can result in major health benefits for these individuals.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12851185/ Community-based group exercise improves balance and reduces falls in at-risk older people: a randomised controlled trial.

The intervention subjects attended a median of 23 exercise classes over the year... Within the 12-month trial period, the rate of falls in the intervention group was 40% lower than that of the control group.