Exercise and Aging

Abstract

People in Western society take less exercise as they become older. Dramatic documentation of the progressive diminution in both sports participation and other forms of vigorous leisure activity has been provided by such agencies as the President’s Council on Fitness and Statistics Canada (Table 1). To some extent, the reduction of activity is culturally determined. A person is expected to “act his age,” to “slow down a bit,” and to “enjoy a well-earned rest” once he has passed the age of 65 years. Nevertheless, the progressive decrease of voluntary activity seems a more general biological phenomenon; the bouncing puppy and frisky kitten are in marked contrast with more sedate 10-year-old animals, and studies at the cellular level suggest a parallel decrement of biochemical activity that commences soon after puberty. It has been suggested that habitual activity is regulated by a specific “center” in a part of the brain known as the hypothalamus; if this hypothesis is correct, one might speculate that the control setting of the “activity center” is adjusted in a downward direction as part of the biochemical slowdown that accompanies aging.