A new study conducted at the University of Sydney, Australia, has found that consistent adherence to physical activity guidelines in middle-age is positively associated with a higher health-related quality of life in women. The study, published in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine, analyzed data collected from 11,336 participants in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health over a fifteen-year period starting in 1996. The women involved in the study were born between 1946 and 1951, making them 47 to 52 years old at the beginning of the study.
The researchers classified participants into three groups based on their physical activity levels: those who consistently met the World Health Organization’s guidelines of 150 minutes of activity a week throughout the entire exposure period, those who did not meet the guidelines initially but started to meet them at ages 55, 60, or 65, and those who never met the guidelines. Health-related quality of life was assessed using the physical health composite score (PCS) and mental health composite score (MCS) from the Short Form 36 Health Survey, which includes questions about functional health and well-being.
The study found that women who consistently met physical activity guidelines or started to meet them at age 55 had a three-point higher PCS compared to those who did not meet the guidelines. This effect was significant even after controlling for socioeconomic factors and pre-existing health diagnoses. However, there was no significant association between physical activity and MCS. The authors emphasize the importance of maintaining an active lifestyle in mid-age to reap the benefits for physical health in later life.
The findings of this study add to existing evidence supporting the benefits of maintaining or adopting an active lifestyle in middle-age. The authors suggest that women should strive to increase their activity levels to meet the guidelines by age 55 in order to maximize the health benefits for physical functioning in later life. They emphasize the importance of being active for as many years as possible, as starting to meet physical activity guidelines in mid-50s can still have significant positive impacts on physical health in the long term.
Overall, the study highlights the importance of physical activity in promoting health-related quality of life in women as they age. Consistent adherence to activity guidelines or starting to meet them in mid-life can lead to better physical functioning in later years. The authors recommend that women make an effort to maintain an active lifestyle throughout mid-age to achieve the most benefits for physical health. Adopting and maintaining healthy exercise habits can have a significant impact on overall well-being and quality of life as individuals age.
