Exercise improves vaccine effectiveness in the elderly.

Advancing age brings a decline in immune system function. Regular exercise helps improves immune function in seniors, leading to a reduced rate of infections and the deaths they cause, and increases vaccine effectiveness.

PositiveTip: Multiple short daily walks can improve immune response to annual flu shots.

Physical activity can preserve memory in the brains of the elderly.

A group of 120 older adults were randomly assigned between two groups: the first group had three moderate aerobic workouts a week, and the second group only stretched for the same amount of time. MRI imaging and memory tests were done at the beginning, after 6 months and after 1 year. Those who only stretched showed a 1.4% decline in brain volume (the hippocampus), while the brain volume of those who moderately exercised actually increased more than 2%. Both groups had memory improvement, but the group doing aerobic exercise showed more.

PositiveTip: Moderate aerobic exercise is a pretty cheap and easy-to-implement intervention to preserve brain function.

A majority of Americans do not know that aging increases the risk of cancer!

Does your potential cancer risk scare you? You are not alone! A recent survey by the American Institute for Cancer Research has found the majority of Americans over 70 years old do not know that cancer risk increases with age. Also, many older Americans think there is nothing they can do to reduce their risk. These troubling findings have led the AICR to launch a campaign called It's Never Too Late to Lower Your Risk.

PositiveTip: The good news is that even older people can significantly lower their risk of cancer through simple lifestyle changes such as eating smart, moving more, and attaining a healthy weight.

Better health correlates with greater quality and interest in sex for the elderly.

A University of Chicago study has revealed that middle-aged and older men and women who perceive themselves to be in very good health are significantly more likely to have a greater interest in sexual activity, as well as having more satisfying sexual experiences.

Men seem to lose more years of sexual activity than women as a result of poor health. In fact, men’s physical health problems are the most commonly cited reason by both sexes for sexual inactivity in later life.

PositiveTip: Choosing a healthy, balanced lifestyle not only enhances sexual relationships in marriage during the later years, it also extends the overall quantity and quality of life.

The combination of diet and exercise proves potent in lowering the risk of dementia.

We all know diet and exercise are important. New research suggests the combination of both may be particularly beneficial in lowering the risk of dementia. In a five-year prospective cohort study of elderly in New York, both high physical activity and high adherence to a Mediterranean diet (high intake of fruits, vegetables, and olive oil, and low intake of saturated fats, dairy products, and meats) were associated with lower risk for cognitive decline--absolute risk was 19% in people with low physical activity and low diet adherence, compared with 12% in those who reported high levels of both behaviors.

PositiveTip: Eating a healthy diet and getting appropriate physical activity regularly can improve your chances of having a sharp mind well into your sunset years!