Regular exercise especially moderate to vigorous physical activity can lower the risk of death in older women by up to 70%

According to a new study published in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation, regular physical activity especially at moderate to high intensities can lead to a big drop in the risk of death in older women by any cause.

The study of more than 17,700 women with the average age of 72, was conducted from 2011 to 2015 and is among the first to use wearable devices to measure and track individuals.  “We used devices to better measure not only higher intensity physical activities but also lower intensity activities and sedentary behaviour which has become of great interest in the last few years,” said I-Minn Lee, M.B.B.S, ScD, the study’s first author and professor of medicine and epidemiology at Harvard University.

Researchers found that regular moderate to vigorous intensity activity, such as brisk walking was associated with a 60-70% lower risk of death by any means among the most active women compared to the least active. 

NOTE:  Circulation is a scientific journal published by The American Heart Association.  The journal publishes articles related to research into cardiovascular diseases.