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The experimental group also exercised more, by not relying on walking sticks etc.

It's been shown that the deterioration of bone density in the elderly can be reversed by simple strength training: inactivity is partly the cause of infirmity.

http://www.naturalnews.com/010528_strength_training_bone_den...

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This is really very key here. A study in China trying to figure out why two identical towns, right next to each other seemed to have radically different health profiles on their elderly eventually came to the conclusion that it was because one of the towns had a a modern road while the other was still paved with cobblestones. The difficulty of walking on the cobblestones kept the population substantially healthier. There are even some experimental retirement homes in Japan designed around this idea. Instead of trying to make everything easier, and allowing the population to grow weaker in response. The entire home is designed to challenging. Things like short door frames so people have to duck.

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