As a society we're living longer: but...can we age successfully?
The miracles of modern medicine, the far-reaching effects of public health and health education, improved socioeconomic conditions, and other factors have combined to keep us alive longer.
With the aging of our "baby boom" generation, the senior population is growing ever larger.
Currently, 31 million people, or 12 percent of the total U.S. population, are aged 65 and older. The Census Bureau anticipates that 62 million people, or almost one in five Americans, will be aged 65 and older by 2025. And by 2045, the elderly population will reach 77 million. (Source: American Demographics, August 1994, P. 38)
With increased longevity for our population come some interesting questions regarding quality of life in the later years -- and a few surprises.
The enemy: ignorance and inactivity
Physical inactivity is associated with many age- related medical conditions, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and osteoporosis.Mounting evidence from research has painted a clear picture that if you do exercise, you benefit; if you don't, you increase your risk of disease.
Yet sadly, only 8% of United States adults currently exercise at recommended levels.Further, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) estimates that 92% of American retirees do no meaningful exercise and that 1/2 of American retirees are completely sedentary.
Why, then, aren't more older Americans exercising?
The senior years are often perceived as a period of loss and decline with an accompanying loss of physical attractiveness, vitality, and health. Such negative images have hampered the development of exercise programs for elder individuals. In fact, most senior citizens are active, vital, contributing members of our society. Not encouraging them, and indeed helping them, to exercise and be physically active is a costly mistake both in economic and human terms.
Four very damaging myths and misconceptions about aging
- Aging is synonymous with debilitating chronic illness.
- Older people shouldn't exercise, because it might hurt them or "use up" what little strength and vitality they have left.
- Even if exercise won't hurt, it can't possibly help. By the time someone is 60 or 65, the damage has already been done and can't be reversed anyway, so why bother?
- Feeling "down" and being depressed is a normal part of aging, and we should expect it from our senior citizens.
From rocking chair to health club
To say that all older people are feeble and best confined to the couch or rocking chair tends to perpetuate harmful myths about aging which may, in some cases, become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you think you're not well enough to exercise, you won't do it, which may eventually cause you to be not well.
Your best strategy
Take time to learn the truth. Talk to your primary care physician. Ask about the actual risks and benefits of exercise for you. Find out what form of exercise is beneficial, safe, and consistent with your lifestyle. Unless you have major medical problems that prevent you from exercising, chances are your doctor will give his or her blessing to a regular exercise program for you. It can be very good for you now, and help to enhance the quality of your life in later years as well.
In the past, some physicians, nurses, social workers, and other healthcare professionals haven't been completely aware of the benefits of exercise for elder citizens. But today, an increasing number of physicians realize that the absence of disease is not the same thing as health, and that the "bigger picture" of health involves a continuing, interrelated series of health-promoting behaviors, including regular exercise.
The far-reaching benefits of exercise
Aerobic exercise can serve as a preventive measure and also as a treatment for many clinical conditions. Each day, there is mounting evidence that the benefits of exercise for the elderly are similar to those demonstrated for younger patients.Experts now report that physical exercise can prevent or reverse about half of the physical decline normally associated with aging. Much of what we consider normal about aging actually has nothing to do with aging, but rather with lack of muscle use leading to muscle atrophy.
Exercise for seniors can produce a variety of beneficial physiologic changes and may slow the progressive decline in function that occurs with inactivity and aging. Exercise provides such benefits as increased muscle strength, flexibility, range of motion, balance, endurance and posture...all of which promote self-sufficiency.
How much do you have to exercise to achieve these benefits?
The level of fitness needed to produce health benefits is easy to attain with low-intensity activities, such as walking, stationary cycling or swimming, for at least 20 minutes, three or more times a week. In addition, a regular program of weight-bearing exercise such as walking, dancing, and running can help to prevent -- or lessen the effects of -- osteoporosis. This tragic disease of brittle bones, which affects some 25 million Americans, results in over one million fractures each year in the United States. While 80% of those who suffer from osteoporosis are women after menopause, its incidence is increasing among men as well. Recent studies suggest that weight-lifting may also help maintain healthy bones.
Remember that most chronic diseases and disabilities in elderly citizens develop insidiously over decades, and are preventable. Preventive medicine should actually begin at birth and continue throughout your life...and now is no exception!
Exercise may lessen the odds of depression
An estimated eighteen million people suffer from depression each year in the United States. The disease is highly prevalent in people 65 and older. Up to 15% of older adults have clinically significant symptoms of depression, and 60% of these adults are not receiving the proper therapy.
Many physicians (and patients as well) erroneously believe that late-life depression is a normal byproduct of the aging process, an often unavoidable consequence of the medical, social, and economic problems faced by elderly citizens. In fact, depression is nota normal response to growing older. Many depressed seniors remain undiagnosed and under treated, even though late-life depression is highly treatable. Like all other illnesses, depression requires medical attention, and seeking help is not a sign of weakness or failure.
Signs of depression
Regular exercise may help you beat depression
- Loss of interest or pleasure in your job, family life, hobbies or sex.
- Difficulty concentrating or remembering
- Physical pains that are hard to pin down
- Sleep disturbances
- Appetite loss (or overeating)
- Unusual irritability
- A loss of self-esteem or an attitude of indifference
- A downhearted period that gets worse and just won't go away
- Frequent or unexplainable crying spells
- Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide
Regular exercise may play a role in preventing depression at the same time it helps to reduce the chances of heart disease and other health problems. Exercise can help you sleep better, make you feel better, look better, and provide you with an enhanced self-image and self-concept. Exercise also acts as a buffer against many stress-illness relationships. It may also expand your social horizons by putting you in touch with other seniors who care about their health as much as you do!
The benefits of exercise for senior citizens
Thinking that it's too late to benefit from preventive health measures is incorrect. It's never too late to get better at who you are! A program of regular exercise can help you:
- Retain your vitality, mobility, and independence
- Feel better physically and emotionally. (Exercise releases endorphins into your blood stream. These are your body's natural pain killers and make you feel "good.")
- Sleep better
- Increase the positive feelings you have about yourself
- Enhance your self-esteem
- Expand your network of friends and acquaintances
- Avoid feelings of social isolation or depression
- Appreciate life more!
Talk with your physician before starting
If you're afraid to start exercising, remember: the risk of injury from moderate levels of exercise is insignificant, yet the benefits are substantial. Don't worry that exercise will wear out your body or injure you in some way. It turns out that, in most cases, just the opposite is true -- namely, that lack of exercise and a sedentary lifestyle do the most damage.
Yet it does pay to check with your primary care physician about exercise and begin your new program gradually. This is especially true ifyou haven't been physically active for a long time.
Your physician will want to know if you have:
- Any history of heart trouble or heart attack.
- Pains or pressure in your left or midchest area, left neck, shoulder or arm during or right after physical activity.
- Feelings of faintness, spells of severe dizziness, or extreme breathlessness after mild physical exertion.
- High blood pressure and whether or not it's under control.
- Any musculoskeletal (bone or joint) problems, including arthritis.
- All medications you're taking, since these can have an effect on your exercise as well.
In conclusion...Use it, don't lose it.
Disease and decline are not inevitable in your later years. Do the right things, and you may stay healthy, vital, and functional for decades.
The preceding information has been provided as a community service by:The CIGNA HealthCare Report and The Rose Resource
Rose Medical Center
4567 E. 9th Avenue, Suite 020
Denver, CO 80220 USA
(303) 320-ROSE (7673)
©1995, Rose Medical Center
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