Exercise - Age 65+ in United States

United States

Regular exercise is an important aspect of healthy living. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that adults age 65 and older who are generally fit and have no limiting health conditions get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity and two days of muscle-strengthening activity every week. 

Routine exercise has been shown to have immediate benefits for older adults, such as improving sleep quality, reducing anxiety and improving blood pressure. It also helps prevent chronic diseases like dementia, heart disease, diabetes and cancer, and reduces premature death overall.

According to America’s Health Rankings analysis, the prevalence of exercise is higher among:

• Older men compared with older women.
• Asian older adults compared with white, Black, American Indian/Alaska Native and Hispanic older adults.
• College graduates, who have a prevalence more than twice that of adults with less than a high school education. The prevalence of exercise is higher with each increase in education level. 
• Older adults with an annual household income of $75,000 or more, who have a prevalence almost twice that of adults with incomes less than $25,000. The prevalence of exercise is higher with each increase in income level. 
• Older adults who live in metropolitan areas compared with those in nonmetropolitan areas.
• Older adults without a disability compared with older adults who have difficulty hearing, difficulty seeing, difficulty with mobility, difficulty with cognition, independent living difficulty and difficulty with self-care.

Even moderate increases in physical activity can reduce the risk of mortality in older adults and prevent or delay the onset of many chronic diseases. Effective interventions among older adults include:

• Exercise and training programs. The National Council on Aging has a list of evidence-based exercise and training programs with proven health benefits for adults, including EnhanceFitness and Active Choices. 
• Home-based exercise interventions, which have been found effective at improving physical fitness among older adults by the Community Preventive Services Task Force. 
• Incorporating both muscle strengthening and aerobic physical activities. This has been shown to reduce death rates among older adults. 
• Increasing neighborhood walkability. A growing body of evidence illustrates the importance of the built environment and community design in promoting physical activity. The CDC lists strategies at the state and local levels aimed at promoting physical activity through community design. Designing communities where people feel safe can help increase physical activity engagement for everyone and improve health equity. 

The CDC also offers further information on how adults can add physical activity to their lives.

Healthy People 2030 has several objectives pertaining to physical activity, including:

• Increasing the proportion of adults who do enough aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity.
• Increasing the proportion of older adults with physical or cognitive health problems who get physical activity. 

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Chase, Jo-Ana D. “Physical Activity Interventions among Older Adults: A Literature Review.” Research and Theory for Nursing Practice 27, no. 1 (2013): 53–80. https://doi.org/10.1891/1541-6577.27.1.53.

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Zhao, Min, Sreenivas P. Veeranki, Costan G. Magnussen, and Bo Xi. “Recommended Physical Activity and All Cause and Cause Specific Mortality in US Adults: Prospective Cohort Study.” BMJ 370 (July 1, 2020): m2031. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m2031.