Question

I am a 72-year-old man in good health, but engaging in less exercise than a year ago. I recently saw an advertisement for using supplementary oxygen while exercising to improve the effectiveness of the exercise. What are your views?

Answer

Supplementary oxygen can be used during exercise for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary (lung) diseases (COPD) and in patients with congestive heart failure. Moreover, supplemental oxygen may have potential beneficial effects to athletes training at high altitude. There is increased maximal cycle time and increased endurance time at 85% maximal workload following six weeks of extra oxygen in trained subjects at an altitude of 1600 m. On the other hand, in high-altitude 'natives', increasing oxygen availability to so-called 'normal' levels while training at altitude has no advantage over training at sea level.
 

To date, few studies have been conducted at lower altitudes to determine if supplemental oxygen can be used during exercise training to enhance endurance performance by improving muscle function. One, available online at the link below, shows that ?cycle training with oxygen-enriched air did not significantly enhance endurance performance and muscle function relative to exercise training when breathing room air in moderately-trained subjects at sea level?.
 

We advise to you continue to exercise regularly at the level you can cope with without becoming breathless. If you are concerned about your level of fitness we suggest that you discuss this with your own doctor and have a check-up. All exercise is beneficial - walking, golf, gardening, swimming, etc, as long as it's regular and sufficient.
 

The links below may be helpful.

Related Links

The Effect of Training While Breathing Oxygen-Enriched Air
How to Start Exercising
Exercise Programs - a Primer
Walking for Heart Health