It’s well known that regular exercise has definite health benefits no matter what age you are, and a study has recently indicated that men can significantly reduce their risk of having a stroke by exercising.
Men must however exercise at a moderate to vigorous level to gain these benefits — for example playing tennis or swimming. In the study, which involved over 3000 New York residents with an average age of 65 to 70, exercising at these levels reduced the risk of stroke by a hefty 63% in the men but made no difference to the risk of stroke in the women.
Of all the people studied, 41% took no exercise at all and that group had the highest stroke risk. Light exercise such as walking or playing golf improved general health but did not significantly reduce the risk of stroke – more vigorous exercise was required for this.
The study was conducted over nine years, but the University behind it admitted that they may not have studied a large enough or varied enough segment of the general population to come to any definite conclusions. It does however make sense to exercise regularly, although if you are very de conditioned or an older adult you should start with light exercise and then gradually increase in intensity.