No doubt, many of us have made resolutions and goals to get healthier this year.  For most of us, this probably means trying to exercise more and for some of us, it means doing some form at exercise at all.  Regardless of your age, exercise is beneficial.  Its benefits for those aging in place include becoming healthier, stronger, increasing endurance and reducing the likelihood of falling.  Study after study states the benefits of exercise and warns about the lack of inactivity.  Lack of exercise can contribute to

• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Cardiovascular disease
• Hypertension
• Osteoporosis
• Depression

Well, the good thing is it’s never too late to start exercising.  Research indicates that exercise can improve:

• Strength
• Mobility
• Endurance
• Balance
  • Reduction of falls
  • Autonomic tone
  • Coronary blood flow

Exercising can take several forms including aerobic exercises and strength or resistance training.  For someone trying to age in place, resistance training can make activities such as doing laundry, carrying groceries, unloading the dishwasher, and rearranging furniture easier.

Strength or resistance training has been shown to develop and maintain

• Muscle strength
• Endurance
• Muscle mass

Additionally, resistance training has been shown to be beneficial in the prevention and management of

• Osteoporosis
• Lower back pain
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Sarcopenia
• Falls

Aerobic exercise improves endurance, and strengthens the heart and lungs.  Aerobic activities for the aging in place adult can make activities such as vacuuming, gardening, washing the car, and walking the dog easier.  Aerobic activity has been shown to:

• Benefit cognitive function in older adults
• Activate your immune system
• Strengthen your heart which results in your heart pumping more efficiently
• Reduce the risk of obesity
• Increase your good cholesterol and lowers your bad cholesterol
• Reduce the risk of heart disease,
• Reduce the high blood pressure,
• Reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and stroke
• Reduce the risk of osteoporosis
• Helps lower high blood pressure and control blood sugar

Stretching is also an important part of exercise and should be done with aerobic and/or resistance training 2-3 days/week.  (Stretching exercises should exercise the major muscles and tendons).  Stretching can make everyday activities like cleaning mirrors, putting on your shoes, and cleaning your bathtub easier.  The benefits of stretching include:

• Increased tendon flexibility
• Increased joint range of motion
• Better muscle performance

Remember, it’s never too late to start exercising.  It can improve the quality of your life and help you in your goal to age in place.  Join us next week as we discuss the benefits of Tai Chi.

Sources:  Health benefits of physical activity: The evidence, Mayo Clinic ,

Resistance Exercise in Individuals With and Without Cardiovascular Disease
Benefits, Rationale, Safety, and Prescription An Advisory From the Committee on Exercise, Rehabilitation, and Prevention, Council on Clinical Cardiology, American Heart Association

A goal of The Aging Suite is to help educate people about health issues and topics that impact the aging population.  One such topic is HIV/AIDS.  Thanks to improved medications, today people with HIV/AIDS have longer life expectancies.  However, as they age, the virus can impact various systems in the body, affecting their functioning at home and thus their ability to remain living in their home, aka aging in place.

HIV’s impact on the body of an older person:

•  There’s a higher incidence of osteoporosis and osteonecrosis in people with HIV which may be caused by the virus or the   medications used to treat it

•  The Virus can cause peripheral neuropathy which can be due to drugs used to treat the virus or the virus infecting nerve cells

•  Dementia due to HIV

December 1st was World AIDS day.  It’s estimated that more than 25 million people have died of AIDS since 1981.  HIV/AIDS clearly has a huge global impact.  The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), published worldwide statistics on HIV and AIDS in November of 2009.

HIV/AIDS in the older population

According to a 2008 report released by the CDC, the number of people aged 50 years and older living with HIV/AIDS has been increasing.  In

2005 people 50 and older accounted for

• 15% of newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS cases
• 24% of people living with HIV/AIDS
• 35% of all deaths of people with AIDS
• The incidence of HIV/AIDS among people 50 and older is 12 greater among blacks and 5 times greater among his Hispanics

Join us next week as we talk more about HIV/AIDS in the older population.

Source:

aidsinfonet.org and the CDC