Evidence for High Intensity Interval Training to be More Beneficial than Moderate Exercise in the Elderly

Researchers here report on the results five years in to a study comparing the effects of different exercise programs on mortality in older people. While the high intensity interval training group are clearly doing well in comparison to their peers, there is a cautionary tale in study design for the other two groups, in that the control individuals appear to have been inspired by their inclusion in the study to exercise more than the study participants who were assigned to the moderate intensity training group. Taken as a whole, the results nonetheless provide yet more corroborating evidence for exercise to reduce mortality in later life. Can exercise really give older people a longer and healthier life? Generation 100 is the first major study that can tell us that, and researchers have encouraging news. Among most 70-77-year-olds in Norway, 90% will survive the next five years. In the Generation 100 study, more than 95% of the 1500 participants survived. The Generation 100 study is a cause-and-effect study. This means that all participants were divided completely randomly into three different training groups when the study started in 2012. One group was assigned to do high-intensity training intervals according to the 4×4 method twice a week, while group two was instructed to train at a steady, moderate intensity for 50 minutes two days a week. The participants could choose whether they wanted to train on their own or participate in group training with instru...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs