People who exercise a few times a week in old age are 2.5 times less likely to suffer serious long-term health problems.

According to a recent study, taking up physical activity later in life is beneficial and life-extending.  The findings include:

Whether working in the garden or cleaning your car, exercise a few times a week in old age can dramatically improve health

Seniors who participate in moderate exercise (including walking or dancing) are two and a half times less likely to suffer serious long-term health problems.

Additionally, researchers from University College London who examined 3,500 men and women over 65 say “it is never too late to start being active.”

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Taking up physical activity in later life and healthy aging: the English longitudinal study of aging

Over the last several years numerous articles about importance of exercise have come to light.   In addition, research is pointing to a strong association between sitting and chronic disease.  Driving automobiles, watching television and movies, hours spent on computers, tablets, and smartphones, and in the past few years online social networking and gaming... keeps us sitting more than ever!

Based on the research, a key health benefit of exercise is its ability to help normalize glucose, insulin, and leptin levels. According to Jordan Metzl, a sports-medicine physician at New York City's Hospital for Special Surgery and author of The Exercise Cure:  "Exercise is the best preventive drug we have, and everybody needs to take that medicine."  It's been suggested that exercise is "the best preventive drug" for many common ailments, from psychiatric disorders to heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Although research is forthcoming, there may be an association between long hours of television and other sedentary activities and chronic disease.  So, if you are sedentary for long periods of time (whether in a car, plane, at work, watching television, gaming, or using online social networking), it's important to stand at least every hour.  Some even suggest that standing every 15-20 minutes is better.

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Doctors Prescribe Exercise as “Best Preventive Drug”

In a fitness event schedule next month, promoters are advising parents go the extra mile for fitness and help sedentary cyber-kids by awakening their children from the inert world of video games and get back to the great outdoors for sunshine, fitness and health!

The latest CDC results show that 75 percent of kids and teenagers are not getting the recommended amount of daily exercise for optimal health without dieting.  This represents 12.5 million teens under threat of chronic health conditions.

Parents, adult relatives, and adults play a vital role to ensure that our young generation will have a balanced lifestyle... not only to be literate in technology... but to be fit in body and mind.

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Top nutrition experts share ideas for getting kids to eat better and be more active