Health knowledge made personal
|
Romuald Lepers and Thomas Cattagni. “Do older athletes reach limits in their performance during marathon running?” AGE, Doi: 10.1007/s11357-011-9271-z.
The best male marathon runners over age 65, and the best female marathon runners over age 45, continue to consistently improve their performance.
UCLA-led team safely uses human embryonic stem cells to treat macular degeneration.
First-of-its-kind study reports that indoor air in offices is an important source of worker exposure to potentially toxic substances.
Twenty percent of Americans ages 18+ experienced a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder in 2010.
In a lab animal model, vitamin D reduced the effects of aging in the eyes and improved the vision of older animals.
For the first time ever, stem cells from umbilical cords have been converted into other types of cells, paving the way for new treatment options for spinal cord
People affected by Alzheimer's disease are more likely to have low blood levels of vitamin E, as compared to people with normal cognitive function.
Virtual reality (VR)-enhanced exercise, that combine physical exercise with computer-simulated environments and interactive videogame features, yield a greater
Providing potent protection for eyes, grapes may help to slow or help prevent the onset of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Review paper confirms the multiple health benefits of consuming fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain foods.
ANTI-AGING TIP OF THE DAY
Lifelong Fitness Linked to Longevity
People who stay even moderately fit as they age may live longer than those who are out-of-shape. Researchers from the University of Otago ( New Zealand) studied 4,384 middle-aged and older adults whose fitness levels were assessed via exercise treadmill tests, then whom were followed for nine years. When the team separated the participants into five groups based on fitness levels, they found that one-quarter of the least-fit men and women had died during the study period, as compared to 13% of those who were slightly more in-shape.
|
Write a comment:
|
In recent decades, the participation of elderly trained people in endurance events such as marathon running has dramatically increased. Previous studies suggest that the performance of master runners (those age 40 years and over) during marathon running has improved. Romuald Lepers, from the University of Burgundy (France), and colleagues analyzed the chronometric performances of competitors in the New York marathon in accordance with age and sex over the 1980-2009 period. They classified runners who successfully completed he race into 10 separate age categories (20-29; 30-39; then every 5 years from between 40 and 79). Whereas the average times achieved by the 10 best male and female athletes in age categories below 60-64 have not changed over the last 30 years, there was a sharp decrease in times for the senior age categories: for an average marathon time achieved of 3 hours and 50 minutes, men in the 65-69 age category improved by 8 minutes between 1980-1989 and 1990-1999, and 7 minutes between 1990-1999 and 2000-2009. Similarly, the average time achieved by women in age categories above 45-49 fell significantly. For example, the average performance for the 55 age category improved by 33 minutes between 1980 and 1990 (for an average race time of 4 hours and 20 minutes), and by 8 minutes between 1990 and 2000. Concluding that, over the last two decades, the performances of the best male marathon runners over 65 and the best female marathon runners over 45 have particularly improved, whereas their younger counterparts have remained stable, the study authors submit that: “These data suggest that male (65 years [and older]) and female (45 years [and older]) master runners have probably not yet reached their limits in marathon performance.”