Envisage a society in which all people over 50 enjoy health and quality of life enhanced through regular physical activity. No section of the population can benefit more from exercise.
As we get older, our bodies, lifestyles, needs and motives change. Older adults who participate in any form of physical activity including exercise, sport or leisure pastimes tend to lead more independent, dignified and enjoyable lives.
| You may not be able to turn the clock back but you can wind it up again! |
74% of men and 83% of women aged 50+ do not take enough physical exercise to benefit their health.
Aim for better health, now and in the future
To achieve this aim you should accumulate half an hour of moderate intensity physical activity on most days of the week.
Physically active lifestyles benefit individuals throughout their lifespan. Age 50 marks a point in middle age at which the benefits of regular physical activity can be most relevant in avoiding, minimising and/or reversing many of the physical, psychological and social hazards which may accompany advancing age.
Physical activity includes all movements of everyday life: occupational activity, recreation, sport, exercise, housework and caring - anything which makes you perspire and short of breath.
Its not about competitive sport. It is about quality of life, based on independence, confidence and empowerment.
People now live longer but this is not their main goal. People want to enjoy their extra years as healthy active individuals, especially when you consider that for men life expectancy is 75 years and on average 15 of those will contain some longstanding illness or disability. For women, it is 80 years, of which 17 will be spent in some degree of ill health.
Exercise can help turn these years of illness into years of healthy active life.
4 out of 10 people over 50 are sedentary for most of the day. Women watch on average 21 hours of TV a week and men 19 hours. Once they switch off the TV 25% of older women do not have sufficient strength in their legs to get out of a chair without using their arms. Amongst women aged 55 years and over, only half have sufficient leg muscle power to climb stairs easily.
One in 5 women aged over 50 and 14% of men have some difficulty in abducting their shoulders (moving limbs away from the body) when washing their own hair comfortably because of a lack of flexibility. This rises to 1 in 3 for those over 75.
| So remember its never too early or too late to start being physically active, but it is always too early to stop. (Vuori, 1996) |
Written by Cat Whiteaway.
02/06/2009