Forget apples, lifting weights and doing cardio is the new mantra to keep the doctors away and cut healthcare costs, reveals a new study by researchers.
![Cardio and Weight Training Can Benefit Seniors` Health, Cut Healthcare Costs Cardio and Weight Training Can Benefit Seniors` Health, Cut Healthcare Costs](https://images.medindia.net/health-images/1200_1000/fitness.jpg)
The researchers tabulated the total costs incurred by each participant in accessing a variety of health care resources.
"We found that those who participated in the cardio or weight training program incurred fewer health care resources – such as doctor visits and lab tests – compared to those in the balance and toning program," says Jennifer Davis, a postdoctoral fellow and lead author of the study.
The study is the latest in a series of studies that assess the efficacy of different types of training programs on cognitive performance in elderly patients. An earlier study, published in February in the Journal of Aging Research, showed aerobic and weight training also improved cognitive performance in study participants. Those on balance and toning programs did not.
"While balance and toning exercises are good elements of an overall health improvement program, you can't 'down-dog' your way to better brain health," says Teresa Liu-Ambrose, an Associate Professor in the UBC Faculty of Medicine and a member of the Brain Research Centre at UBC and VCH Research Institute. "The new study also shows that cardio and weight training are more cost-effective for the health care system."
BACKGROUND | Exercise benefits for the brain
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Research method
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Source-Eurekalert