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LONGEVITY Tai Chi Linked to Longer Life
Adapted from REUTERS.
Chinese men who practiced tai chi were less likely to die over a five-year period than men who didn’t exercise at all, in a new study.
The findings support past studies that found health benefits related to the traditional Chinese exercise.
Tai Chi combines slow motion exercise and mind concentration to focus on movement. That itself can reduce your stress and, of course, it will increase your flexibility and endurance. While there is no direct proof that tai chi was responsible for some men’s longer lifespan.
Earlier research has shown tai chi can be beneficial for people with chronic conditions, for example by improving balance among those with Parkinson’s disease (see Reuters Health report of February 8, 2012 here: reut.rs/xtA2xa).
Research exercisers tended to be older and more of them had heart disease and diabetes.
The research group took into account men’s age, health conditions and whether they smoked, exercise was tied to a 20 percent lower likelihood of dying.
Men who walked regularly were 23 percent less likely to die during the study, and men who jogged were 27 percent less likely to die, Zhang’s team reports in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
The research study was observational, and did not randomly assign people to practice tai chi or not, it’s impossible to say whether the exercise itself is responsible for the findings.
There’s always the possibility, for instance, that people who choose tai chi tend to have healthier lifestyles.
I think for the elderly people, especially to maintain flexibility and balance, this is a good option for people to consider.
SOURCE: bit.ly/1aImEF3 American Journal of Epidemiology, online June 27, 2013.
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