From a National Institute On Aging release:
Fragmented physical activity, but not total daily activity, was significantly associated with death, the researchers found. For each 10% higher degree of activity fragmentation, mortality risk was 49% greater. The duration of physical activity also mattered: Participants who frequently engaged in short bouts of activity of less than five minutes were more likely to die than those whose activity bouts lasted five minutes or longer. These associations held after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index and other factors.
Daily physical activity, which benefits health and quality of life, typically decreases in older adults. A new study shows that higher fragmentation of that activity — more transitions from activity to sedentariness — may be a better indicator of risk of death than a person’s overall level of physical activity.
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, analyzed data from the NIA-supported Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA), looking at a week’s worth of minute-by-minute physical activity for 548 healthy participants age 65 and older (average age, 76).
To read more: https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/fragmented-physical-activity-linked-higher-risk-death-older-adults
“This study identifies a new molecular connection between exercise and inflammation that takes place in the bone marrow and highlights a previously unappreciated role of leptin in exercise-mediated cardiovascular protection,” said Michelle Olive, program officer at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Division of Cardiovascular Sciences. “This work adds a new piece to the puzzle of how sedentary lifestyles affect cardiovascular health and underscores the importance of following physical-activity guidelines.”
The investigators discovered that patients with a higher genetic risk for depression were more likely to be diagnosed with depression over the next 2 years. However, more physically active patients at baseline were less likely to depression, even after they accounted for genetic risks.
“Another behavior change is physical exercise,” Pillemer said. “A paradox of pain is that exercise helps reduce it, but it’s difficult for people in pain to think about exercising. So they don’t exercise, they get more sedentary and the pain increases; it’s a vicious circle. So how do you get people to actually change their behavior?”
Researchers suggest that intensity is critical. Seniors who exercised using short, bursts of activity saw an improvement of up to 30 percent in 
Now 63, Mr. Peterson has progressed from bike paths to rugged mountain trails and is known for his caped helmet emblazoned with his nickname, UniGeezer. Based on his GPS and bike computer, he estimates he’s logged nearly 30,000 miles, or 24 million pedal revolutions, since he started.
“Living a healthy lifestyle may help offset a person’s genetic risk of dementia, according to new research.
Gravel riding is more jarring than road riding so strength and mobility really come into play. “Your upper body takes much more of a beating,” Mr. Wilwerding says. “Especially when you’re riding bumpy terrain for eight hours.” With the help of a coach, he has trained to participate in five century rides—three road, two gravel—this summer. His next ride, the SBT GRVL, takes place Aug. 18 and covers 141 miles and about 9,000 feet of climbing in Steamboat Springs, Colo. “I’m in the best shape of my life outside of my collegiate swimming career,” he says. 
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