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Wouldn't it be nice to have a little pill that could add years to your life, fight off disease, reduce the effects of aging and make you look and feel 10, 20 or 30 years younger? If this miracle pill did exist, you probably would take it every day without fail, maybe even several times a day, in order to live a long, healthy life.

The good news is, that pill does exist. It's called exercise. Maybe that's not the answer you wanted, but physical fitness is the closest thing we have on Earth to a Fountain of Youth. And those reaching the golden years--and there are plenty of us--need a good drink from that fountain every day to stay healthy and active.

Fortunately, there's no shortage of physical fitness, but there are millions of us who are short on exercise--particularly older Black women, who are at special risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and other health problems because of sedentary lifestyles, experts say.

According to the Surgeon General, more than 60 percent of American adults do not engage in the recommended amount of activity--a minimum of 30 minutes a day, three days of the week--and about 25 percent of adults aren't active at all. The most inactive groups are Blacks and Hispanics, women, and older adults, the Surgeon General reports.

Naturally, those of us in our 50s, 60s and 70s are not as strong and as agile as we were in our 20s. But health experts say that much of the weakness, stiffness and fatigue that we chalk up to advanced age is actually the result of inactivity. Sedentary lifestyles, not aging bodies, make us feel old and feeble.

In fact, researchers have found that regular physical activity can improve the health of people who are in their 90s or older, who are frail or who have chronic diseases. Even diseases usually associated with aging--diabetes, osteoporosis, colon cancer, heart disease, stroke--can be prevented or their effects can be reduced if we put more fitness in our lives.

And there are plenty of "physical" benefits in physical fitness. Most people lose 20 to 40 percent of their muscle tissue as they get older, and bone production slows about age 30 (in women bone loss hastens after menopause).

Daily exercise, whether it's walking, jogging, stair climbing, dancing or weight lifting, makes bones and muscles stronger, denser and able to withstand the effects of age. Exercise also burns excess calories and reduces body fat, which keeps you trim and toned.

# posted by Medical Information : 4:07 AM