OAP Skiers Boosting Lung Capacity

Older people who regularly ski have lungs with twice the capacity of those who do not exercise, according to Swedish scientists. The results of recent tests have shown that some of the older men who took part in the study had muscle and lung profiles similar to that of men 40-50 years younger.

Per Tesch, a sports science professor at Mid Sweden University said: "The findings show that humans have a great potential to maintain a high level of physical work capacity and thereby better quality of life even at advanced ages." The university worked with Stockholm's Karolinska Institute on a study of older active skiers who were tested and experimented on in östersund. Its findings indicated that the maximum capacity for oxygen uptake is twice as great in active senior men compared with men who do not exercise.

Some results are similar to values for men 40-50 years younger but who do not exercise. Professor Tesch said: "The high values for maximum oxygen-uptake capacity that we have measured have never been reported before in a population of men of advanced age."