Healthy living
Anti-ageing
The secret to an active old age?
A glug of a high energy sports drink, some gentle exercise and then a steak or fish for supper: could this be the perfect recipe for staying active into old age?
For the first time, scientists have looked at the impact of different combined exercise and nutritional programmes on older people aged 65 to 92 years. And the results, discussed at this year's BA Festival of Science in Liverpool, could surprise you.
Manchester Metropolitan University researchers found that combining gentle exercise with an energy drink beforehand, and a body-building supplement after, improved muscle strength and slowed muscle wastage in the over-65s.
Interestingly, this combination appeared to bring better results in fitness levels compared to those carrying out heavy-resistance training, suggesting that high-intensity exercise may not be the best choice for older people.
A group of around 60 healthy and independent adults aged over 65 took part in the 12-week study. Half the group did gentler, low-resistance exercise sessions once a week while the rest undertook more intense, high-resistance exercise twice a week. Within each group some were also given nutritional supplements to take – a drink of Lucozade before exercising for an energy boost and then a protein drink taken shortly after exercising.
At the end of the 12 weeks, they found that muscle size and strength had increased in all groups. However, the best results were found in the group that completed low-intensity exercise but took the additional supplements. These volunteers had not only built more muscle but were more flexible too.
The gentle exercise routine included a hourly gym session once a week, made up of a 10-minute warm-up, 30 minutes of weights, 10 minutes improving balance and coordination and 10 minutes of stretches and tai chi.
'Maintaining muscle performance and arresting muscle wastage can offer older people real improvements in their quality of life,' says Dr Gladys Pearson, lead researcher. 'Though we still need to assess precisely what level of exercise gives the best results, we believe we've shown that regular low-resistance exercise complemented by the right nutritional supplements could boost the well-being of the UK's ageing population.'
'This is an interesting study that holds a number of important messages for older people,' says Jackie Lowdon, dietitian and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association. 'As we age, we lose muscle mass but we also have a tendency to lose our appetite, too. This means many older people don't get the protein they need to maintain healthy muscles.
'Supplements are used in studies so that doses can be measured precisely but I would recommend translating the supplements into healthy food choices instead. High protein sources include meat, fish, eggs, cheese and milk and we would encourage older people to ensure they have a good protein source in every meal.'
'Swapping the Lucozade used in the study for a glass of orange juice would be a far healthier option. Energy drinks are expensive and just 'empty calories', offering nothing but a quick energy boost. A glass of orange juice would be healthier. It's still a good, easily digestible source of energy but also contains vitamin C, antioxidants, is a source of fibre and can even count towards one of your five-a-day.'
'It's good to hear that even gentle exercise can improve muscle strength as many older people that can't manage more strenuous exercise may wrongly think doing slower exercise isn't worth the bother.'
Although much research has been done into the benefits of protein and exercise for building muscle in younger people, older people have rarely been included in scientific studies.
The same team of researchers now want to look at the effectiveness of different combinations of strength exercise along with nutritional supplementation for old and young orthopaedic surgery patients.
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Information on this site is for interest only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. You should consult your own doctor about any specific health concerns.
