By Staff Reports
(Hawaii)– From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.
A good way to have an active retirement is to stay physically active. Researcher Lorraine Phillips of the University of Missouri looked into this by checking four times during a year on 38 residents of an independent living facility.
The study looked at physical abilities; notably, walking, maintaining balance, and getting up from a chair. It also looked at things people did, such as light housework as well as walking.
Phillips says some loss of physical ability can be expected, but it showed more in those who did less:
“Persons who declined in their physical abilities over the course of the year also reported lower levels of physical activity.”
The study in the journal Clinical Nursing Research was supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Learn more at healthfinder.gov.
HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.