When You Stop Exercising In Your 50s, This Is What Happens To Your Future Health – Health Digest

Your immune system kicks in to fight off infection and heal your body, but it begins to decline with age, called immunosenescence. A 2020 article in Nutrients found that older adults who exercise have better immune responses to reduce inflammation and risk of infection. People who have a lot of aerobic fitness have fewer aging T-cells (a type of white blood cell), which means their immune system is healthier. Exercising throughout your life prevents the aging of your T-cells. Regular exercise also improves your vaccination response to help your body fight off viruses such as the flu.

Because exercise improves your immune system, you’re more likely to live longer, according to a 2015 study in JAMA Internal Medicine. The study tracked more than 200,000 people between the ages of 45 and 75 to see how often and intensely they exercised. Even just a small amount of exercise, up to 149 minutes a week, can lower your risk of death from any cause by 34%. The more exercise, the better. Those who exercised between 150 to 299 minutes a week had a reduction in the risk of early death of 47% compared to people who never exercised.