The cognitive or physical decline that comes with aging can make things burdensome for older adults. However, according to SciTechDaily, recent research revealed how being willing to take longer walks and cycles could decrease the early risks of disability and death.
Longer Walks Decrease Risk of Functional Disability and Death Among Older Adults
The study was included in the Health and Place publication. The study revealed a link between the rates of functional disability and death among older adults who traveled long distances by foot or bicycle. Findings revealed that older adults who were only willing to cycle or walk shorter distances had higher risks of developing functional disabilities and dying.
Professor Okura Tomohiro, the study's lead author, explains that active travel helps keep physical activity levels adequate as one ages. Professor Tomohiro notes that since such travel activities also foster other activities, like grocery shopping, they argued that how far these older adults traveled through such means could be an important proxy.
To see if such proxy data is significantly related to death or disability in the future, the scientists surveyed a huge sample of adults, ages 65 and older. This was done in 2013 in order for baseline information to be generated. For nearly eight succeeding years, the researchers also gathered further data. Such data was then used to come up with various models useful in looking into the impacts of baseline travel inclinations, physical qualities, and geographic qualities.
In order to come up with a valuable model, the researchers had to get the data in order to consider the intrinsic differences across the population to enable life alterations to naturally take place.
Such findings can help policymakers and specialists learn more about the effects of aging-related challenges. It can also serve as a basis for devising other approaches and services that could be helpful for older individuals.
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Other Ways to Reduce Early Death Risk
While long walks and cycles have indeed been seen to significantly reduce disability and death risks, there are other scientifically proven ways to decrease early death risk. CNN reported earlier that there are certain activities that have been seen to beneficially reduce risk of dying early. Individuals need to simply choose a particular enjoyable activity that makes them move, be it swimming, running, playing golf, walking, or even playing racket sports.
These leisure activities have been seen to decrease early death risk and death attributed to cancer or cardiovascular conditions. Such findings were included in the JAMA Network Open journal.
Eleanor Watts, study author and epidemiology postdoctoral fellow from the National Cancer Institute, explained how performing any of these activities was significantly linked to lower mortality. This was in comparison to those who did not do such activities.
Such findings, however, only reveal correlation and not causation.
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