SHOULD WE ENCOURAGE OUR OLDER FOLKS TO EXERCISE ?

 “No man loves life as he who’ s growing old.”  -Sophocles

Let’s first define what age group is called “older old?”

There are two branches of medicine that deals with old age: Gerontology and Geriatrics. Gerontology studies all aspects of normal aging process like causes, physiology, sociology and psychology. Gerontologist in one study, classified old age people into three subgroups, according to their  age:

1         Younger- old  ( 65 – 74 )

2         Middle – old ( 75 – 84 )

3         Older – old   ( 85 +  )

Geriatrics, on the other hand, deals with the diseases of old age.  Doctors who specializes in geriatrics are called geriatrician.  I think that after a  certain age ( 70 + ) we all should pick a geriatrician doctor to become our primary care doctor.

Since exercise, at any age, is considered by many as the “elixir of life,” and exercise boosts the immune system, then the answer of the above question should be absolutely yes. But, this simple answer raises many more questions because when some of us are privileged enough to reach the sunset of our life with advanced age, we must have a longevity gene in our genetic makeup. However, older old age comes with many health and social issues such as joint and muscles aches and pains, muscles atrophy, weakness, dizziness, chronic heart and circulation problems, hearing loss, visual acuity problems, memory loss and cognition problems, poverty, loneliness and depression.

Under these circumstances, what kind of an exercise could be done? How much of it is necessary to be beneficial? Is doctor supervision necessary during exercise?

The human body is made for walking, not for running or other strenuous prolonged exercises, they are for younger generations. For older old, with doctor permission, the most appropriate exercise would be taking easy steps at home or walking outside and counting daily steps. This could be done by using pedometer or a monitor for counting steps when it is necessary to know how many daily steps are needed for optimal benefit.

In one of the most recent paper published in JAMA medical journal, Dr. Lee and colleagues, using “Women Health  Study ” data, which has been designed to follow the health and habits of older women for decades, found out that in older women, to reduce premature death rate by at least 40%, the minimum required daily steps count should be around 4,500 steps- a-day. Less steps are not that beneficial, more steps are better.

Social and psychological needs of older old should take priority over their exercise needs and nothing is better than family ties.  The older old may have clouded memories, however memory of family members are vivid. In some cultures, such as the culture that I grew up with, abandoning their older old into nursing homes is considered a big shame for families.

Older old need love, human touch, and family connections. They should not be left out because they are old or don’t hear well. Their lifelong experiences and wisdom should always be inquired in family affairs. Actualization, self- determination, remembering and often talking about the good old days are very important for them in order to keep some of their fading memories alive. They should never be criticized.

No medications or institutions could replace family connections, love and human touch for older old’s physical and psychological well being.