Over 65s told every minute in gym counts
Just one minute of exercise every week is enough to bring health benefits to people over the age of 65, new research has revealed.
The study by Abertay University in Dundee indicated one weekly session was enough to produce improvements in blood glucose control and general mobility.
Groups of 65 to 75-year
olds with sedentary lifestyles took part in training sessions either once or twice a week for eight weeks as part of the research.
Participants were asked to cycle as hard as they could for six seconds on stationary bikes before resting for at least a minute.
The process, known as sprint interval training (SIT), was repeated until they had exercised for a total of one minute.
Dr John Babraj, who led the study, said: “We’ve found that SIT, whether it’s done once a week or twice a week, improves the ability to get glucose out of the system.
“While those participating in the twice-weekly sessions observed a greater improvement, those taking part in the single session also observed change.
“Importantly, they also observed a difference in general function, greatly improving their ability to do everyday tasks such as getting up to answer a door and walk up and down stairs.
“These are major issues for older people. As we lose physical function, we start to become socially isolated and as we become socially isolated our quality of life declines significantly.”
Dr Babraj now wants the SIT sessions to be introduced as part of the government’s physical activity guidelines for the older age group.
“Currently, older adults are advised to participate in at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise each week and that can be difficult to accrue,” he said.
“Both of our groups produced greater adaptations than what we would expect the smallest worthwhile change to be.
“Our results provide further support for the inclusion of this form of training in the guidelines as one of the methods to gain health benefits.”
The study, entitled The Impact of Sprint Interval Training Frequency on Blood Glucose Control and Physical Function of Older Adults, is available online.