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HEALTH

German study shows those who exercise regularly remain ‘younger’ longer

Recent analysis of data from a long-term study into the effects of an active lifestyle show those who led active lifestyles were around 10 years younger in terms of motor skills.

German study shows those who exercise regularly remain 'younger' longer
Photo: DPA

The 25-year study, run by the Sports Institute at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), is called 'Gesundheit zum Mitmachen', which translates roughly to 'health through participating'.

It was initiated by sports scientists Klaus Bös und Alexander Woll and involved almost 500 volunteers from the Bad Schönborn in the state of Karlsruhe, the Stuttgarter Zeitung reports.

Since 1992 the participating men and women, aged between 35 and 80, were tested regularly on strength, flexibility, stamina and fine motor skills.

The unique long-term project has both scientific and practical purposes: the initiation and implementation of measures which promote health as well as the planning and conception of a long-term scientific study into the correlation between activity, fitness and health.

According to Klaus Bös, former head of the KIT Sports Institute, the question of nutrition was deliberately left out of the study as, “it would have gone beyond the scope of the framework and we simply lacked the sufficient expertise in that wide field.”

When the KIT study first began in 1992, 500 people aged 35 to 55 were chosen at random to be tested and were invited back for further testing every five years, alongside a new 'class' of 35-year-olds.

A little over 120 people took part in all the tests over the 25 year period, with a proportion of volunteers dropping out at various points along the way.

During each phase, subjects filled out questionnaires on their health and sporting habits. Their fitness was then assessed with physical tests observed by a doctor, a medical technical assistant and a sports scientist.

Blood samples, body fat measurements and psychological health of the volunteers were also studied.

Health problems inevitably increase with age but results from the KIT study confirm that people who regularly take part in active hobbies have far fewer complaints than those who are inactive.

Those who do not achieve 2.5 hours of moderate physical activity per week, as recommended by the World Health Organisation, are three times more likely to develop circulatory, cardiovascular, orthopaedic and neurological problems, as well as being four times more likely to suffer from type 2 diabetes, than those who are active. 

The KIT study also reports a significant increase in physical and sporting activities in the Bad Schönborn population.

The largest increase was visible for the age range of 51- to 60-year-olds as, while this age group took part in on average only 45 minutes of exercise per week in 1992, this had increased to 120 minutes by 2015.

According to Klaus Bös, it doesn't really matter what kind of sport you're doing.

“Sport has to fit with people, not vice versa,” which means it could be walking, jogging, bike riding, swimming or anything else that gets your heart-rate up.

HEALTH

Lengthy waiting times at Danish hospitals not going away yet: minister

Danish Minister for the Interior and Health Sophie Løhde has warned that, despite increasing activity at hospitals, it will be some time before current waiting lists are reduced.

Lengthy waiting times at Danish hospitals not going away yet: minister

The message comes as Løhde was set to meet with officials from regional health authorities on Wednesday to discuss the progress of an acute plan for the Danish health system, launched at the end of last year in an effort to reduce a backlog of waiting times which built up during the coronavirus crisis.

An agreement with regional health authorities on an “acute” spending plan to address the most serious challenges faced by the health services agreed in February, providing 2 billion kroner by the end of 2024.

READ ALSO: What exactly is wrong with the Danish health system?

The national organisation for the health authorities, Danske Regioner, said to newspaper Jyllands-Posten earlier this week that progress on clearing the waiting lists was ahead of schedule.

Some 245,300 operations were completed in the first quarter of this year, 10 percent more than in the same period in 2022 and over the agreed number.

Løhde said that the figures show measures from the acute plan are “beginning to work”.

“It’s positive but even though it suggests that the trend is going the right way, we’re far from our goal and it’s important to keep it up so that we get there,” she said.

“I certainly won’t be satisfied until waiting times are brought down,” she said.

“As long as we are in the process of doing postponed operations, we will unfortunately continue to see a further increase [in waiting times],” Løhde said.

“That’s why it’s crucial that we retain a high activity this year and in 2024,” she added.

Although the government set aside 2 billion kroner in total for the plan, the regional authorities expect the portion of that to be spent in 2023 to run out by the end of the summer. They have therefore asked for some of the 2024 spending to be brought forward.

Løhde is so far reluctant to meet that request according to Jyllands-Posten.

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