Researchers: Zoltan Ungvari, Vince Fazekas-Pongor, Anna Csiszar, Setor K Kunutsor
Physical activity, including walking, has numerous health benefits in older adults, supported by a plethora of observational and interventional studies. Walking decreases the risk or severity of various health outcomes such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes mellitus, cognitive impairment and dementia, while also improving mental well-being, sleep, and longevity. Dose-response relationships for walking duration and intensity are established for adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Walking’s favorable effects on cardiovascular risk factors are attributed to its impact on circulatory, cardiopulmonary, and immune function. Meeting current physical activity guidelines by walking briskly for 30 min per day for 5 days can reduce the risk of several age-associated diseases. Additionally, low-intensity physical exercise, including walking, exerts anti-aging effects and helps prevent age-related diseases, making it a powerful tool for promoting healthy aging. This is exemplified by the lifestyles of individuals in Blue Zones, regions of the world with the highest concentration of centenarians. Walking and other low-intensity physical activities contribute significantly to the longevity of individuals in these regions, with walking being an integral part of their daily lives. Thus, incorporating walking into daily routines and encouraging walking-based physical activity interventions can be an effective strategy for promoting healthy aging and improving health outcomes in all populations. The goal of this review is to provide an overview of the vast and consistent evidence supporting the health benefits of physical activity, with a specific focus on walking, and to discuss the impact of walking on various health outcomes, including the prevention of age-related diseases. Furthermore, this review will delve into the evidence on the impact of walking and low-intensity physical activity on specific molecular and cellular mechanisms of aging, providing insights into the underlying biological mechanisms through which walking exerts its beneficial anti-aging effects.
References
- Mechanisms of Vascular Aging.
- Aging, aerobic exercise, and cardiovascular health: Barriers, alternative strategies and future directions.
- Navitoclax improves functional hyperemia in aged mice.
- Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) supplementation rescues cerebromicrovascular endothelial function and neurovascular coupling responses and improves cognitive function in aged mice.
- Strong, steady and straight: UK consensus statement on physical activity and exercise for osteoporosis.
- Exerkines in health, resilience and disease.
- Physical Activity and Nutritional Influence on Immune Function: An Important Strategy to Improve Immunity and Health Status.
- Nutrition and physical activity in the prevention and treatment of sarcopenia: systematic review.
- Physical Activity and Nutrition: Two Promising Strategies for Telomere Maintenance?
- Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Other Lifestyle Factors in the Prevention of Cognitive Decline and Dementia.
- or nutrition interventions to promote mobility in older adults: an umbrella review.
- Aging, Physical Exercise, Telomeres, and Sarcopenia: A Narrative Review.
- Telomere length and long-term endurance exercise: does exercise training affect biological age? A pilot study.
- Effects of Physical Exercise on Cognition and Telomere Length in Healthy Older Women.
- Fusogenic liposomes effectively deliver resveratrol to the cerebral microcirculation and improve endothelium-dependent neurovascular coupling responses in aged mice.
- Exercise preserves physical fitness during aging through AMPK and mitochondrial dynamics.
- Dietary restriction involves NAD⁺ -dependent mechanisms and a shift toward oxidative metabolism.
- Protective effects of sirtuins in cardiovascular diseases: from bench to bedside.
- Impairment of an Endothelial NAD+-H2S Signaling Network Is a Reversible Cause of Vascular Aging.
- Slowing ageing by design: the rise of NAD+ and sirtuin-activating compounds.
- SIRT1 is required for AMPK activation and the beneficial effects of resveratrol on mitochondrial function.
- The Role of SIRT3 in Exercise and Aging.
- Sirtuin 3 (SIRT3) Pathways in Age-Related Cardiovascular and Neurodegenerative Diseases.
- PGC-1α Signaling Pathway.
- Preserved stem cell content and innervation profile of elderly human skeletal muscle with lifelong recreational exercise.
- The Impact of Exercise on Telomere Length, DNA Methylation and Metabolic Footprints.
- Association of Physical Activity With Telomere Length Among Elderly Adults - The Oulu Cohort 1945.
- Can physical activity ameliorate immunosenescence and thereby reduce age-related multi-morbidity?
Topic: Memory training in elderly