The average American’s weight goes up and fitness levels go down in middle age. But being average in the area of middle age fitness is a dangerous business – it can put you at significantly higher risk of illness and even death.

The largest-ever long-term study of physical fitness change in United Stated clearly illustrated the correlation between aging, weight, and fitness. The study monitored over 2,000 men and women at four research sites across the United States, starting when the participants were 18 to 30 years of age. The participants’  fitness levels were tracked for twenty years as they moved from young adulthood into middle age.

Fitness and activity levels plunge as age increases …. while weight and risk factors soar

As the moved from young adulthood into middle age, their physical activity dropped by an average 18 percent. This change set off an alarming domino effect: by the end of the study the participants’ physical fitness levels had declined by an average 28 percent and their weight increased by an average 20 percent. According to the researchers, these changes put the participants at significantly greater risk of illness and death.

The study unmistakeably indicated the importance of staying physically active as we grow older. The head researcher noted that though we can’t control aging, our level of physical activity definitely is something we can control. And the degree to which we do maintain fitness in middle age can play an enormous role in determining our health and well-being for the rest of our lives.

Mid-life fitness clearly shown to reduce risk factors

In recent years science has shown that a host of natural aging-related changes once considered inevitable can be reduced, delayed, or offset by maintaining a healthy weight and moderate-to-high physical activity level. Slowing of the metabolism, loss of muscle tone and bone density, reduced flexibility, and even cardiac ailments and irregularities have all been shown to respond dramatically to a regular regimen of increased physical activity. Higher levels of fitness also correspond to lower incidence of non-insulin dependent diabetes, osteoprosis, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease.

And it’s not just the body that benefits from middle age fitness – it also significantly reduces the risk of dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, depression and other mood disorders.

Fortunately it seems it really is never too late to start. A regular regimen of physical activity leads to increased fitness at any age, resulting in remarkably positive physical and mental health improvements in even the very old.

aging fitness

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Join host Peter Coyote in “Brain Fitness 2: Sight & Sound,” the follow-up to “The Brain Fitness Program,” as he explores the brain’s ability to change and grow, even as we age, helping us maintain and improve our vision and hearing. “Brain Fitness 2: Sight & Sound” is a special in-depth look at the advances in neuroplasticity and how it relates to healthy aging, with a particular focus on making the most of information filtered through our eyes and ears. Check your local listings to …

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About Author

True middle age fitness involves both body and mind – to read more on this topic, click here. The right attitudes combined with the right practices and routines can produce truly amazing results – looking younger, feeling younger, and living longer. If you’d like to enjoy an extraordinary life, Click Here To Learn More About Fit Over 40 one of the best selling e-books in history … and make the rest of your life the best of your life.

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