Scientists Reveal How To Age Healthily for Women

It's never too late to start living a healthy lifestyle. In fact, according to new research, starting to get active in your 50s and 60s can still deliver significant improvements to your physical health.

The World Health Organization recommends adults should partake in at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week, or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity. Not only is exercise good for weight loss, but it is beneficial for our heart, muscles and mental health. But if you've been physically inactive for most of your adult life, can you still reap these benefits?

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Science says yes.

In a new study, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, researchers from the University of Sydney, investigated the benefits of physical activity during middle age.

The study, led by Binh Nguyen, analyzed data from 11,336 Australian women born between 1946 and 1951. The data was collected at three-year intervals over a 15-year period from 1996 and participants were asked about their exercise regime and perceived physical and mental health.

The participants were divided into three groups: those who met the WHO's physical activity guidelines consistently throughout the 15-year study period; those who did not initially meet the guidelines, but began to meet them at age 55, 60 or 65; and those who never met the activity recommendations.

It is perhaps unsurprising that those who consistently met the WHO activity guidelines throughout the study period reported higher perceived physical health scores. However, those who first started to meet the guidelines at age 55 also reported this higher perceived physical health—in fact, on average this group reported slightly higher perceived physical health than the consistent exercise group.

These effects were consistent even after socioeconomic factors and preexisting medical conditions were accounted for. However, interestingly, there was a significant association between hitting the activity guidelines and perceived mental health, despite previous studies indicated a positive effect of exercise on mental health.

"Combined with existing evidence, this study contributes to growing evidence of the benefits of maintaining or adopting an active lifestyle in mid-age," the researchers write.

"An important public-health message is that being active for as many years as possible, even if women start to meet physical activity guidelines in their mid-50s, could have important health benefits in terms of physical health, especially in physical functioning."

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