Aerobics can make you young, suggests study

The study, led by University of Toronto scientists, found that high-intensity exercise, taken regularly for more than a year, can make someone as fit as a sedentary person who is 12 years younger.

8220;There seems good evidence that the conservation of maximal oxygen intake increases the likelihood that a healthy elderly person will retain functional independence,8221; one of the study8217;s authors was quoted by the British media as saying. Previous studies have suggested that maximum aerobic power falls in men by up to half between the ages of 20 and 60. Women begin to lose aerobic power aged around 35, with aerobic power again falling by up to half by the age of 60.

However, the researchers said that relatively high-intensity aerobic exercise over a relatively long period of time could boost aerobic power by up to 25 per cent. The results of the study have been published in the latest issue of the 8216;British Journal of Sports Medicine8217;.