Physical Activity and Aging: Retrospections and Visions for the Future

Abstract

Maintaining health and postponing chronic disease are assuming a higher priority in our aging society. It is therefore more critical than ever to understand the specific contribution that exercise makes toward the achievement of independent and healthy living for as many individuals as possible. Scientists have already shown that exercise plays an important role in maintaining cardiovascular health, muscular strength and endurance, balance, flexibility, and neuromuscular coordination. What remains for researchers of the future is to clarify the relationships among fitness, cognition, emotional health, and well-being in the elderly. More important, the greatest challenge for future researchers is to determine how an adult population that recognizes the benefits of exercise but continues to be sedentary can be transformed into a population that incorporates an adequate level of physical activity into its lifestyle.