ELDERLY people who take up exercise are three times more likely to stay healthy than their inactive peers, new research suggests.

Pensioners who become active are likely to reap "significant health benefits" by staving off major ill-health or dementia, researchers said.

The study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, tracked 3500 people with an average age of 64 for more than eight years.

Participants described their physical activity every two years. The responses were categorised as inactive, moderate activity at least once a week, and vigorous activity at least once a week.

The authors also examined medical records and performed cognitive tests on participants.

At the follow-up stage, they concluded 19.3% of the elderly people had aged "healthily", and there was a direct link between healthy ageing and exercise.

People who were active for the whole eight years were seven times more likely to be healthy than those who did no exercise. Even those who became active during the study were three times more likely to be healthy than their inactive peers.