Question
“Regular physical activity can delay your ageing process". Justify your answer in light of the effect of activities on physiological changes.

Answer

Regular activity can play an effective role in maintaining functional fitness in aged population in the following ways:
  1. Reduces the Loss of Muscle Mass: Muscle mass decreases with advancing age. Ageing has a negative effect on metabolism. Regular physical activity decreases the loss of lean body mass and drop in the metabolic rate. Regular physical activity also reduces the accumulation of fats.
  2. Helps in Maintaining Bone Density: Bone density decreases with age. It usually leads to fracture and osteoporosis. Physical activity helps to maintain bone mass and prevents osteoporosis. Resistance exercise stimulates bone growth. Research studies show that aged people can increase their bone density with the help of regular exercise.
  3. Slows Down Brain Ageing: The regular physical activity reduces the risk of mild cognitive impairment. It is a condition characterised by memory and thinking problems. Mild cognitive impairment may lead to dementia later on. Regular physical activity reduces the risk of developing this problem in the first place. Regular physical activity improves memory and cognitive skills. It stimulates the growth of new nerve cells and builds new capillaries to supply the brain with more oxygen.
  4. Reduces the Risk of Age-related Diseases: Regular physical activity reduces the risk of a number of health problems related to ageing. Such health problems are type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, heart diseases, etc. Regular physical activity decreases blood sugar level, decreases LDL (bad cholesterol), increases HDL (good cholesterol) decreases blood pressure and decreases blood vessel stiffness. It can be alluded that physical exercise reduces the risk of diseases related to ageing.
  5. Improves Muscular Strength: Ageing process does not hinder the individual's ability to enhance muscle strength. Regular physical activity increases the strength of muscles. As a matter of fact, physical activities increase the size of muscles which ultimately increases muscular strength.

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