exercise training has a favourable effect on ageing of the cardiovascular system in older men, resulting in minimal loss of oxygen uptake, no rise in resting blood pressure and no change in body composition.

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A 28-year longitudinal study Kasch FW, Boyer JL, Van Camp S, Nettl F, Verity LS, Wallace JE? Cardiovascular changes with age and exercise. A 28-year longitudinal study. Scand J Med Sci Sports 1995: 5: 147-151. 0 Munksgaard, 1995 Various studies report a 0-22% per decade decline in circulatory function ( $'02max) with advancing age. Twelve exercising men (E) were followed for 28 years, mean age 43 and 71 years, initial to final measurement, while 12 dropouts (C) detrained for 21 years, with a mean age from first to last measurement of 48 and 69 years, respectively. PO, max in E changed from 45.9 to 39.4 ml . min-' . kg-I, 5% per decade, whereas C declined from 36.0 to 21.4 ml . min-' . kg-', 19% per decade. Resting blood pressure was unchanged in E, 119175 mmHg, whereas C rose from 128/85 to 149190 mmHg. The data suggest that regular aerobic exercise forestalls the usual loss of circulatory function with increasing age.

In brief To assess the decline in maximal aerobic power (V O2max) with age, two groups of men were studied: Fifteen exercisers were followed from age 45 to 68, and 15 controls were measured while training at age 52 and again at age 70 after being detrained for 18 years. Resting blood pressure of 120/78 was unchanged in the exercisers but rose from 135/85 to 150/90 in the nonexercisers. V O2max measured by open circuitry declined 13% in the exercisers from 44.4 to 38.6 ml-min(-1)-kg(-1); in the nonexercisers it declined 41% from 34.2 to 20.3 ml-min(-1)· kg(-1). The V Omax loss was primarily due to a combined loss of maximal heart rate and stroke volume. The data suggest that regular aerobic exercise retards the usual loss in aerobic power with age and present important implications for the aging population in relation to social, economic, and health benefits.

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