By Dr. VICTOR S. SIERPINA
A recent ode to the benefits of tennis by a 74-year-old writer caught my eye. Citing various classical authors, philosophers, and the gradual improvement of his game since his 20s, the author championed the power of vigorous sport on his writing and his mind. Riffing off a Robert Frost poem that ended “Here are your waters and your watering place./Drink and be whole again beyond confusion,” the author concluded: “The tennis court is my watering place where I drink and am whole again beyond confusion — at least for a couple of hours.”
As an aging tennis player myself, I found his essay in The Wall Street Journal’s opinion page uplifting as he described “tennis as a refuge from the racket of everyday life.” We all need some kind of healthy activity and discipline to allow us to shut down the grinding gears of our minds for brief periods and refresh it with the drink of stillness and the water of life.
The Physical Activity Council recently reported 28 percent of Americans over 6 get no physical activity meaning they are totally sedentary in the past year. This report is also included a sharp increase in inactivity for those over 65. These are unhealthy trends.
Of course, not everyone over 65 can be as active as they would like. Limiting and painful conditions like arthritis, back pain, heart or lung problems, obesity, and general deconditioning keep people’s backside plastered to the recliner.
Another recent study showed that only 6 percent of those over 70 are physically active. Yet, this older age group is just the one that needs to exercise the most. Doing so can add life to their years, not just years to their life.
I marvel when I visit UTMB’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at 4700 Broadway where hundreds of vital seniors from their 50s to 90s are involved in all kinds of physical activities. These include walking an indoor, air-conditioned, art-decorated track and free fitness classes. They are also enrolled in ballroom dancing, folk dancing, tai chi, yoga, chair yoga, water aerobics, Pilates, and total body fitness. All this while socializing, stretching their brains at the same time they are moving their bodies, and having fun!
Many people quit exercising because they complain they are not losing weight. Losing pounds, while important, doesn’t matter as much as you think. A European study of 334,000 overweight and obese people over a 12 year period recorded twice as many deaths due to lack of physical activity than from obesity. In other words, being active, as little as a brisk daily 20-minute walk or a total of 150 minutes per week, can significantly reduce risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and even Alzheimer’s, even when your weight isn’t at your target.
Any regular activity can improve life expectancy, quality of life, reduce stress, depression, and anxiety. If it were a pill, some pharma company would have patented it years ago. Go ahead, take that first step.