By Jason Sweeney
 Chair exercise instructor Liz Siegel leads an introductory session during El Camino YMCA’s Active Older Adult Day. |
Juan Ponce de Leon, in his quest to find the Fountain of Youth, discovered Florida instead. Unfortunately for Ponce de Leon, his search for eternal life was cut short at age 55 by a Caloosa Indian’s poisoned arrow.
Dr. Jack Higgins has since taken up Ponce de Leon’s quest. Higgins revealed the secrets to a long and healthy life Thursday at the El Camino YMCA in Mountain View as part of the YMCA’s National Active Older Adult Day.
Longevity does not come from a magic elixir bubbling out of a Florida spring - it comes from exercise. While lowering stress levels and maintaining a healthy diet are important, studies show physical activity as the most important factor to a long and healthy life.
“Exercise is the true fountain of youth,” Higgins said.
In a 1968 test, researchers had fit young men lie in bed for three weeks. After three weeks of bed rest, those fit young men had transformed into unhealthy, out-of-shape cream puffs. Researchers put the young men on an exercise regimen and the cream puffs became fit again - good as new.
A follow-up test in 1998 found the original participants had become flabby, out-of-shape 50-year-olds. After six weeks of exercise, researchers discovered that the 50-year-olds had become fitter and healthier than inactive 20-year-olds.
Higgins, an active cyclist, spent 20 years practicing family medicine in Chico before moving to the Bay Area. He is now vice president of health promotions of Fifty-Plus Lifelong Fitness, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting an active lifestyle for older people. Fifty-Plus works with doctors and employers, and sponsors events from walks to talks, in an attempt to promote health through the creation of a culture of fitness.
People over 50 who lead active lifestyles are 70 percent less likely to suffer from chronic disease than those who are inactive. With an aging population straining the health system, getting people fit could be the best way to solve the health crisis, Higgins said.
Although “geriatric jocks” make the news by such feats as running marathons after the age of 75, we don’t have to be jocks to stay in shape. The U.S. Surgeon General suggests 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity 5-6 days a week.
Brisk walking is the most popular way for the over-50 crowd to get those daily 30 minutes of exercise.
Simple changes like parking farther away from the office or store, and taking the stairs instead of the elevator, are good ways to keep fit. Walking 10,000 steps a day is the recommended daily allotment. Pedometers have become a popular way to keep track of the number of steps you’ve taken over the course of the day.
The El Camino YMCA’s Active Older Adult Day is an annual event with lectures, activities and services geared to non-YMCA members over age 50. In addition to Higgins’ lecture, this year’s event included free bone density and blood pressure screenings, chair exercise demonstrations and an Aqua Arthritis class in the pool with Dr. Karl Knopf.
For more information on the El Camino YMCA’s Active Older Adult Program, call 964-6783 or 400-8172. For more information on Fifty-Plus Lifelong Fitness, log on to www.50plus.org.
