68 Is The New 40?
Seniors Who Exercise Can Shave a Quarter-Century--Or More--Off Of Their Age
--National Senior Games Association Survey Reveals Vital Stats on Fitness Age of Athletes--
BATON ROUGE, La., July 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Just in time for the start of the 2015 National Senior Games presented by Humana, The National Senior Games Association (NSGA) — a Multi-Sports Council Member of the United States Olympic Committee — today released the results of a survey of more than 4,200 competing senior athletes which revealed that exercise cut the fitness age of participants by nearly a quarter-century, from 68 to 43.
The athletes, all of whom qualified for the 14th biennial National Senior Games taking place July 3-16th in Bloomington/Minneapolis/St. Paul, completed a fitness age test developed by researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Based on the concept that physical fitness is essential to a long life and good health, the online fitness age test calculates individuals' fitness age based on a few simple questions such as gender, waist size and exercise routine.
"The Fitness Age survey is unique in that the questions highlight important risk factors associated with disease and disability," said Pam Peeke, MD, MPH, FACP, Trustee, National Senior Games Foundation Board. "People with a good Fitness Age tend to have lower waist sizes, higher aerobic capacity and optimally healthy lifestyle habits. All of these factors are taken into consideration in the calculation of the Fitness Age."
The survey also revealed specific US states where senior athletes had the greatest difference between their actual ages and fitness ages. The top 10 states include:
| State |
# of Respondents |
Avg. Age (state) |
Avg. Fitness Age |
| Washington |
102 |
66 |
39 |
| Georgia |
87 |
66 |
40 |
| California |
363 |
66 |
40 |
| Idaho |
89 |
67 |
42 |
| Nevada |
79 |
68 |
43 |
| Arizona |
136 |
69 |
44 |
| Florida |
322 |
69 |
44 |
| Connecticut |
72 |
66 |
43 |
| Massachusetts |
71 |
65 |
42 |
| Missouri |
96 |
65 |
42 |
The state of Washington has the "youngest" senior athletes with an average fitness age of 39, followed by Georgia and California, which tied for the second overall spot with average fitness ages of 40. In these top 10 states, the most popular sports ranged from track and field to cycling, swimming and pickleball.
"The National Senior Games athletes are living proof that you can make a dramatic impact on slowing the aging process by staying fit," said Peeke. "It's absolutely never too late for anyone to get more fit and improve their overall health. It's as simple as assuming the vertical and walking each day."
The results of this survey come just a few days ahead of the 2015 National Senior Games presented by Humana, the largest multi-sport qualified competition event in the world for men and women 50 and older. Nearly 10,000 athletes are expected to compete in more than 800 events, over 13 days at 26 sport venues throughout the Twin Cities metro region.
About The National Senior Games Association
The National Senior Games Association (NSGA) is a nonprofit member of the United States Olympic Committee that promotes health and wellness for adults 50 and over through education, fitness and sport. NSGA governs the 2015 National Senior Games presented by Humana, the largest multi-sport event in the world for seniors. NSGA sanctions member state organizations across the country that host Senior Games or Senior Olympics to provide seniors with quality sports activity. For more information, please visit www.NSGA.com
For more information on the Fitness Age test please visit www.worldfitnesslevel.org
SOURCE The National Senior Games Association
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