Norman shares his research findings about the link between VO2 Max, exercise and age-related diseases. VO2 Max, a measure of cardio-respiratory fitness, declines gradually with age – but there are ways to harness it for optimal ageing.
My Friend Vee Max (VO2max)
We all know that Vee Max is a gender-neutral friend and in order to be a very good cyclist you need to have a high Vee Max. Sure, a high Vee Max is necessary to win but it is not the be all and end all. Many other factors play a part. However Vee has two faces. Like Janus.
The other, lesser-known face is what really interests us oldies. Which face is that?
To answer a question let’s begin with a question. What is meant by the term “all-cause mortality”?
In plain English it means, the number of people that have died in a particular time period from all nasties that can kill us. In other words, it is the number of deaths in a population from all causes over a specific time period, say in a year, and is usually expressed as the number of deaths per 10,000 people.
Of course, there are many causes of death over which we have very little control. Some examples are infections, cancers and genetic problems. I am not going to enumerate all of them.
Why? Because we oldies are not interested in those diseases over which we do not have control but unsurprisingly we are very interested in those diseases which we can control because they are dependent upon lifestyle. My colleagues and I call these “diseases of exercise deficiency”. The list of lifestyle diseases is extensive and includes high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease and strokes.
Looking at this abbreviated list you can immediately understand why I call them diseases of exercise deficiency. They are all affected by our lifestyle. All together these diseases make up about 50% of the diseases that are included in all-cause mortality. So, you can see by watching our lifestyles we can have a big effect on those nasties that are trying to chop us down.
Is there any physiological index that we can use which would allow us to predict whether our chances of getting these lifestyle diseases are high or low? Notice I’m talking probabilities here because nothing in biology can be predicted 100%. Obviously, there must be such an index otherwise I would be wasting all our time.
It has been found that Vee Max is the gold standard for this prediction. When, in a huge study, 10,224 men and 3,120 women were followed for eight years it was found that age-adjusted mortality fell from 64 per 10,000 person-years in the least fit to 18.6 in the most fit men.
The figures for women were 39 for least fit to 18 per 10,000 person- years. In another study of 25,000 men and 7000 women, with an age range from 20 to 80 years, it was found that lower death rates were associated with regular physical activity.
Finally, about 18,000 Korean men followed for 6.5 years showed that regular physical activity as assessed by our friend Vee Max was associated with a decrease in all-cause mortality. I only show three studies here but there are many others from around the world.
So, does cycling keep our friend Vee Max happy? Yes a study at Guy’s London on oldies shows this to be the case. However, physical activity must be done regularly and throughout our lifetimes. Doing cycling, or any other physical activity, on a haphazard and intermittent schedule will not be OK.
Remember there is nothing about being competition in any of these studies. Going as hard and as fast as you are able does not give greater protection from disease it only makes you more proficient in your chosen discipline.
The message for us oldies is clear. To age optimally, cycle regularly; keep to speeds and distances that are within your capabilities as you age. Combine that with ensuring that you are eating the correct food in the correct amounts and you are as good as it gets.
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