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We know that good physical fitness is important for cardiovascular health. But as we get older, many people have more difficulty working out and keeping in shape.<\/p>\nWe know that good physical fitness is important for cardiovascular health. But as we get older, many people have more difficulty working out and keeping in shape.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, according to a new study published in JAMA Psychiatry<\/em>, having good fitness at older ages may not be as important for cardiovascular health as previously thought.<\/p>\n But only if we do something specific in our midlife.<\/p>\n Scientists analyzed information collected from the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study, for which data was collected between from 1971 to 2009.<\/p>\n They identified 17,989 people with a full dataset available who did not have any history of cardiovascular problems at the beginning of the study.<\/p>\n Using Medicare claims, they identified depression diagnoses and used the National Death Index to identify deaths due to cardiovascular problems.<\/p>\n Those that had a high midlife fitness level were 61% less likely to develop cardiovascular disease during their senior years.<\/p>\n This shows the importance of keeping in shape during midlife, even if we\u2019re not able to keep it up later on.<\/p>\n Those with high midlife fitness levels were also 16% less likely to be diagnosed with depression when they were older, showing that exercise is a great antidepressant, even for cases of depression that could develop 15 to 30 years later.<\/p>\n Those who were unfortunate enough to still develop depression and who were fit during their middle ages were 56% less likely to die of cardiovascular disease than those who were unfit.<\/p>\n The authors sensibly recommended, as many scientists have done, that doctors should prescribe exercise for middle-aged people to ensure healthy and happy aging later.<\/p>\n But if you already have high cholesterol and clogged heart arteries, what should you do?<\/p>\n