Work is good for you, according to a new study which reveals people still at work beyond retirement suffered less from serious illness.
The findings suggest that working past the age of 65 years old decreased the chances of dying from cancer and other serious illnesses.
And the report from scientists at Oregon State University in the US also found the longer people work, the fitter they are in comparison to those who retired early or at 65.
The survey also revealed that unhealthy workers who carried on working also found they were likely to live longer.
“It’s not necessarily the case for everyone, but the research leads us to believe that working gives people a lot of benefits that can impact on how long they live, providing they keep working,” said Chenkai Wu, who led the research.
Wu argued that most research looks at the financial aspects of working past retirement and that no one had really assessed the health impact.
Benefits of exercise
Another study by University College London also scrutinised if moderate exercise such as walking or dancing really improved the health and wellbeing of the over 65s.
After looking at the health and medical records of 3,500 men and women aged over 65, the researchers concluded that moderate physical activity once or twice a week meant retirees were 2.5 times less likely to become unhealthy.
This research followed other British statistics that showed the over 60s were becoming more obese.
A third were putting on unhealthy weight – with 35% of men and 38% of women between the ages of 60 and 70 years old are overweight.
Those that exercised from activities such as gardening, dancing, walking and even cleaning a car were less likely to suffer serious illnesses.
Lower risk of death
Two thirds of the subjects were considered unhealthy and the rest healthy. During the study, 25% of the unhealthy group dies, but only 12% of the healthy group.
The research team calculated healthy retirees had a 11% lower risk of death.
“The healthy group were also better educated, wealthier and had a better lifestyle than the unhealthy group,” said a spokesman for the university.
“But even taking these social and economic factors into account, people who took part in physical activities were less likely to suffer serious illnesses.”
