Exercise at Any Age

Such long-lived exercisers as Cardiologist Paul Dudley White have long since convinced doctors and laymen that lifelong exercise is good for the heart. But what of the man who slacks off in midlife? Is it safe for him to crank up again? Apparently it is, judging from a study conducted at the University of Illinois by Dr. John O. Holloszy of the U.S. Public Health Service.

Of the 15 men, aged 35 to 55, in Dr. Holloszy's study, one had had a heart attack and another severe high blood pressure. The rest were in good health, but all of them had become soft from lack of exercise, and their blood contained abnormally high levels of complex chemicals known as serum triglycerides, which some experts now regard as more important than cholesterol in setting the stage for artery disease and heart attacks.

In a six-month program of running and rhythmic calisthenics, which became progressively more strenuous, the volunteers shaped up dramatically. On the average, Dr. Holloszy told the American College of Cardiology, the men cut their time for running a mile, from 8 min. 51 sec. to 7 min. 36 sec. And they did so with far less huff, puff and heart strain: pulse rates were as much as 19 beats-per-minute lower following exercise than they had been at the beginning of the program.

As for those serum triglycerides, they fell from an average of 205 milligrams to a healthy 125.

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