Anecdotally: after being sedentary for 35-40 years and having both hips replaced in their early 70s, health quality in one of my parents had degraded such by th

Anecdotally: after being sedentary for 35-40 years and having both hips replaced in their early 70s, health quality in one of my parents had degraded such by the time they were 85 that I suggested a mild fitness program of walking 3/4 of a mile each day. Exercise regimes get no milder than that. Improvements in day to day energy and balance, A1c, frailty and sleep quality were so markedly improved after just one month that it became the source of motivation. 7 years later, when weather prevents their daily walk, the difference is obvious to them. Advanced aging is learned helplessness. Exercise can make a difference at any age and is the natural offset to that depressive, learned helplessness of aging. As the saying goes: Exercise is its own reward.