Exercise and the Health of the Elderly

Most lifetime morbidity is concentrated in the later years as a consequence of increasing amounts of chronic illness and senescent changes. An ideal society would reduce this large illness burden by focusing upon increasing the incident age of first infirmity and compressing lifetime morbidity between that point and the average age at death; the "Compression of Morbidity." We compared progression of musculoskeletal disability, pain, and medical care costs by a longitudinal study of 537 members of a runners club and 423 community controls over a period of more than 8 years with an average initial age of 59 years, with extensive controls for selection bias. Exercising subjects developed disability at a rate only one-fourth that of the sedentary controls. Musculoskeletal pain was reduced by 20%. Medical care costs of exercisers were 25% less than controls. Mortality was significantly reduced in the exercising groups. These findings have substantial implications for health policies directed at increasing amounts of regular lifetime physical activity to improve the quality of life of our rapidly increasing senior population.