Looking to boost the health benefits of your walking-fitness routine? Pick up the pace. That’s the surprising recommendation of new research by the University of Colorado Boulder and Humboldt State University that jogging — not walking — can turn back the clock on aging.
The study, published in the Public Library of Science Journal PLOS ONE, found that senior citizens who run several times a week for exercise expend about the same amount of energy walking as a typical 20-year-old,
Medical Xpress reports.
But older people who walk for exercise rather than jog expend about the same amount of energy walking as older, sedentary adults, the researchers found.
"The bottom line is that running keeps you younger, at least in terms of energy efficiency," said CU-Boulder researcher Rodger Kram of the Department of Integrative Physiology.
The study involved 30 healthy older volunteer adults (15 males and 15 females) with an average age of 69 who either regularly ran or walked for exercise. The volunteers all had been either walking or running at least three times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes per workout for at least six months.
"What we found is that older adults who regularly participate in highly aerobic activities — running in particular — have a lower metabolic cost of walking than older, sedentary adults and also lower than seniors who regularly walk for exercise," said Humboldt State professor Justus Ortega.
"It's been known for a long time that as people age their maximum aerobic capacity, or 'horsepower,' declines, and that is true for runners as well. What's new here is we found that old runners maintain their fuel economy."
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