Steady Exercise Strengthens Older Immune Systems
 (HealthDayNews, 4/22/04)

Researchers at Acadia University in Nova Scotia, Canada, assigned 10 men and 12 women, aged 54 to 82, moderate resistance exercise using tubing and exercise balls for 30 minutes daily, three times a week. After 11 months on the regimen, the subjects exhibited more muscle strength, improved lipid profiles and increased immune activity. Previous research using resistance training that lasted just three months did not produce a similar boost in immune function, suggesting that the long-term nature of the exercise may be key to its immune-enhancing effect.