Table 1. General characteristics of participants at baseline. Data are means (±SD). Exercise Group (EX) n = 23 Control (C) n = 17 Age (yr) 69.2 (5.2) 70.1 (6.6) Weight (kg) 54.7 (9.6) 53.6 (7.9) Height (m) 1.58 (.08) 1.55 (.05) Body mass index (kg/m2) 21.7 (.5) 22.7 (3.4) SBPrest (mmHg) 131 (18) 139 (15) DBPrest (mmHg) 78 (9) 84 (9) HRrest (bpm) 77 (10) 82 (12) Self assessed health condition (%) Good 61 59 Average 35 35 Poor 4 6 Take medications (%) 44 53 Education* (%) Completed secondary education 91 82 Completed higher education 9 18 *Secondary education includes junior high school education which is generally completed at the age of 15, and/or high school education which is generally completed at the age of 18. Higher education includes college or university level education of at least four years after secondary education.