Senior Fitness and Exercise

 

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Seniors Reap the Benefits of Physical Activity

Tammy Petersen, M.S.C.

The aging of the American population has created a large group of older adults who are even more susceptible to the detrimental effects of physical inactivity than are younger people.

Once adults pass the physical prime of their teens and 20s, they lose an average of 10 ounces of lean body mass a year, and this is mostly in the form of muscle tissue. And because few people actually lose 10 ounces of weight a year, instead, most gain about a pound a year nearly all in the form of fat, the loss of lean tissue is masked. It is a process that is more insidious and crippling than osteoporosis. However, many people will not notice it until they find they have difficulty climbing stairs or lifting themselves off the sofa. Unchecked, the gradual loss of muscle strength is the main reason elderly Americans have difficulty performing the tasks of daily living and ultimately lose their independence. This phenomenon, which we call sarcopenia, derived from Greek words for vanishing flesh, is NOT an inevitable consequence of aging. It is instead an inevitable consequence of disuse.

Another important reason for older people to strength train is that evidence suggests that exercise may decrease the rate of bone loss associated with osteoporosis and reduce the likelihood of falls that result in hip fractures.

A slight increase in muscle strength at any age can improve quality of life and stave off the frailty that used to be considered a normal part of getting old. While strength training is not the only type of exercise that is important for older adults, it should be easy to understand that the frailer a person becomes, the greater the importance of strength training. And sometimes, strength training and flexibility are the only types of exercise in which the elderly can engage in until they gain enough muscle strength to allow them to work on their endurance or aerobic capacity, and balance.

Older inactive adults also loose ground in three other areas that are important for staying healthy and independent; these are endurance, balance and flexibility. Endurance training can maintain and improve cardiovascular function and can reduce risk factors associated with chronic diseases such as diabetes, colon cancer, heart disease, stroke and others, and reduce overall death and hospital rates. Balance exercises help to prevent falls and flexibility exercises help to keep the body limber by stretching muscles and tissues that hold the bodys structure in place. Flexibility may also play a part in preventing falls.

Some types of exercise improve just one area of health or ability, but more often, an exercise has many different benefits. So, elderly adults should be encouraged to increase both the types and amounts of exercise and physical activity they do.

According to many sources, including the NIA, many older adults feel they need their doctors approval to start exercising; this is not only unnecessary, but also a negative motivator.

So, contrary to traditional thinking, regular exercise helps, not hurts, most older adults. Older people become sick or disabled more often from not exercising than from exercising. Almost all older adults, regardless of age or condition, can safely improve their health and independence through exercise and physical activity.

For more information regarding specific exercises, motivation, and testing for older adults, there are many resources available. My favorite is the National Institute on Aging (Phone 800-222-2225 or visit www.nih.gov/nia).

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