Staying active in your middle-age years may keep you as physically fit — or more physically fit — than persons years younger than your chronological age. In a Utah study, physically fit people in their mid-50s were compared with inactive males in their mid-20s. The older men had lower resting heart rates of 64 beats a minute, while the younger men had resting heart rates of 85 beats a minute. The older men also had higher oxygen intakes during exercise workouts and slower heart rates in the first minute after exercising. To add an additional insult, the middle-aged men weighed an average of 166 pounds, compared with 192 for the young loafers.