Posts Tagged ‘senior’

The Secret of Senior Fitness

January 26th, 2010

The diet/weight loss industry is a multi-billion dollar business.

So is the healthcare industry…

and the pharmaceutical industry…

and the health insurance biz.

Billions and billions and billions and billions.

In contrast, the amount of money being spent on health promotion and disease prevention last year in the United States was $11.78.

But, that’s okay.

Because, according to a group of studies published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers have identified a low cost solution that “not only helps maintain good health, but may even prevent the onset of chronic diseases, such as heart disease, osteoarthritis and dementia”.

And considering that the Baby Boomers have begun to enter their senior years, senior citizen health & fitness is about to become a major social & economic driver in the coming years.

So, we have to decide:

  • Do we want to spend billions & billions attempting to treat the symptoms of heart disease, dementia, osteoporosis, diabetes, cancer, alzheimers….?
  • Or do we want to spend $11.78 and prevent these diseases from happening in the first place?

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The Secret of Senior Fitness

So what is this low-cost secret to senior fitness?

According to these studies presented in this month’s Archives of Internal Medicine, it’s EXERCISE

  • Study # 1 showed that seniors with higher levels of midlife physical activity experienced exceptional health status among women who survive to older ages (70+) and reinforce the conclusion that physical activity improves overall health as we age.
  • A second study looked at the effectiveness of targeted exercise programs on the health-related quality of life of institutionalized senior citizens. Amongst this demographic, exercise produced an improvement in the overall quality of daily activities – walking, continence, nutrition and mental cognition.
  • A third study showed that 1 to 2 resistance training workouts per week produced significant improvements in the cognitive functions of 65 to 75 year old women.
  • A fourth study showed that a exercise program focusing on intensity helped women (65+) improve their bone mineral density, fall rate and cardio heart disease risk factors…with no increase in direct costs.
  • The fifth study showed that people 55+ are much less likely to experience cognitive impairment (dementia, alzheimers) as they glide into their senior years.

These studies back up previous research showing that:

  • High blood sugar levels significantly increase your risk of cognitive impairment (link)
  • Overweight/Obese seniors (60 – 75) were able to increase their physical fitness, increase their muscle mass and lose body-fat…all in 4 months. (link)
  • Daily physical activity is able to counteract  fat genes (FTO) (link)

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So, what are you supposed to do with all this info?

  1. Stay active
  2. Encourage your friends & family to be active. Healthcare costs associated with inactivity & poor diet and lifestyle choices are going to skyrocket as the bulk of the baby boomer population enters their senior years. Everybody ready for another economic meltdown?
  3. Encourage your employer / government to get proactive about rising healthcare costs by spending a little more on health promotion / disease prevention. Public health & fitness facilities and programs need to become a priority.

And, to do my part, I will post an article tomorrow about the type of fitness program seniors should be doing.

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Taizo the Japanese Fitness Robot

September 14th, 2009

taizo fitness robot

Personal Trainers BEWARE!!!

In 2010, a Japanese Fitness Robot named Taizo will begin stealing all of your clients.

Initially designed as a rehabilitation robot for Japanese senior citizens, Taizo has performed well in its 5 test runs at group homes and community centers. During these tests, seniors found it easy and fun to mimic their robotic Richard Simmons.

In fact, company representaties were thrilled with how well Taizo interacted with the seniors.

taizo exercise

Sadly, it was only after Taizo had left the building, did they find out that most of the seniors were senile and had confused Taizo for their grandchildren.

Taizo is expected to be ready for commercialization in 2010.

For more info about Taizo, go to PlasticPals

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September 3, 2009

The “I don’t have time to workout” Workout

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August 24, 2009

Better Than The Biggest Loser

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August 4, 2009

13 Training Mistakes You Need to Avoid

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Your Anti-Senility Prescription

December 31st, 2008

senility

This post is for everyone out there with a loved one over the age of 50.

.New research shows that our lifestyle choices (nutrition and physical activity) have a powerful effect on age related cognitive health.

Translation: Senility is mostly preventable with diet and exercise.

And guess what?

The same lifestyle choices that have created an epidemic of obesity in the Western world are also responsible for much of the dementia in today’s senior citizens.

Here’s the science:

Study #1

Researchers from the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain found that maintaining steady blood sugar levels, even in the absence of disease (diabetes, metabolic syndrome) is an important strategy for preserving cognitive health.

For many of us, senior moments are a normal part of aging. Such lapses in memory, according to this new research, can be blamed, on rising blood glucose levels as we age.

Whether through physical exercise, diet or drugs, our research suggests that improving glucose metabolism could help some of us avert the cognitive slide that occurs in many of us as we age,” reported lead investigator Scott A. Small, M.D.

Although it is widely known that the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease cause damage to the hippocampus, the area of the brain essential for memory and learning, studies have suggested that it is also vulnerable to normal aging.

Until now, the underlying causes of age-related hippocampal dysfunction have remained largely unknown.

In previous studies, Dr. Small et al had discovered that decreasing brain function in the dentate gyrus region of the hippocampus is the main contributor of normal age related cognitive decline.

In this new study, researchers used medical imaging devices to “help us better understand the basic mechanisms behind hippocampal dysfunction in the aged.”

Their research looked at measures that typically change during aging, like:

  • rising blood sugar,
  • body mass index,
  • cholesterol and
  • insulin levels.

The research found that decreasing activity in the dentate gyrus only correlated with levels of blood glucose.

“Showing for the first time that blood glucose selectively targets the dentate gyrus is not only our most conclusive finding, but it is the most important for ‘normal’ aging- that is hippocampal dysfunction that occurs in the absence of any disease states. There have been many proposed reasons for age-related hippocampal decline; this new study suggests that we may now know one of them,” said Dr. Small.

Conclusion

Control your blood sugar and prevent senility

How?

Read this and this and this and this.

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Study #2

In this study, researchers found that as we age, a slow, chronic starvation of the brain appears to be one of the major triggers of Alzheimer’s disease.

When the brain doesn’t get enough glucose, “a process is launched that ultimately produces the sticky clumps of protein that appear to be a cause of Alzheimer’s”. During this process, a key brain protein (eIF2alpha) increases the production of an enzyme which, in turn, flips a switch that produces the sticky clumps of protein.

And what causes this reduction in blood glucose to the brain?

Cardiovascular Disease

And how do we prevent cardiovascular disease?

But don’t take my word for it.

“This finding is significant because it suggests that improving blood flow to the brain might be an effective therapeutic approach to prevent or treat Alzheimer’s,” said Vassar, a professor of cell and molecular biology at the Feinberg School.

A simple preventive strategy people can follow to improve blood flow to the brain is getting exercise, reducing cholesterol and managing hypertension.

“If people start early enough, maybe they can dodge the bullet,” Vassar said.

For people who already have symptoms, vasodilators, which increase blood flow, may help the delivery of oxygen and glucose to the brain. It also is possible that drugs could be designed to block the eIF2alpha protein that begins the formation of the protein clumps, known as amyloid plaques.

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References

  1. EurekAlert
  2. EurekAlert

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Senior Fitness: A Fountain Of Youth?

September 22nd, 2008

“It’s natural”.

“As we age, our bodies lose muscle and gain fat”.

“We get weaker and fatter”.

This is the diagnosis a “senior” friend of mine received from her doctor.

Seriously.

It’s natural, learn to accept it.

Accept it?

Accept that wheelchairs, electric scooters and assisted living are the natural consequences of aging?

Accept that it is impossible to remain fit and healthy well into our “golden years”.

Not according to the research coming out of the University of Pittsburgh.

The Study

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“In this study, a group of sedentary and overweight older people placed on a four-month exercise program not only became more fit, but melted off body-fat”

“The new study also showed that when older people diet without exercising, they lose more lean muscle compared to those who exercise, said senior researcher Bret H. Goodpaster”.

“When they combined weight loss with exercise, it nearly completely prevented the loss of lean muscle mass”.

“The results are important because <sedentary> older people tend to lose muscle mass as they age and too much muscle loss may interfere with activities of daily living”.

The Details

  • In addition, they also wanted to know which fuel source the body would draw upon, carbohydrates or fats, under these different conditions.

The 64 participants were 60-75 years of age and were either overweight or obese.

All of the participants were sedentary at the outset of the study.

The researchers divided the participants into three groups:

  • exercise only - walking on a treadmill or riding a stationary bike
  • diet only – calories reduced to achieve a 10% weight loss by the end of the four months.
  • exercise plus diet

Results

At the end of the four month experiment, the researchers found that:

The Exercise Group

  • The Exercise group became more efficient at the exercise task by the end of the study. This indicates that their fitness improved. This is good.
  • The Exercise group became more efficient at using fat for fuel. This is great. Less body-fat.

The Diet Group

  • The Diet-only group did not become efficient at the exercise task, even though they weighed less at the end of the experiment. Mixed results. Leaner, but no increase in fitness.
  • The Diet-only group’s weight loss resulted from a loss of both muscle and fat. Not good. The loss of muscle mass is very, very bad.

The Exercise + Diet Group

  • The Exercise plus diet group was the most efficient at the exercise task. This shows an additive effect of both dieting and exercise. Great, great, great.
  • The Exercise plus diet group, like the exercise-only group, drew more on body-fat as an energy source.

And the winner is….

The Exercise and Diet Group

  • Increased Fitness
  • Increased Muscle Mass
  • Decreased Body-Fat

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By the way, my “senior” friend has another doctor’s appointment scheduled for December.

Based upon the changes she has already seen in the past 2 months, she is looking forward to seeing her doctor eat his words.

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Stay tuned.

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References

American Physiological Society (2008, September 22). Older People Who Diet Without Exercising Lose Valuable Muscle Mass. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 22, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080917095349.htm

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Boomers Active Lifestyle ensures life long Health and Vitality

June 4th, 2008

A new long-term study, published in the July issue of the American Journal of Public Health, concluded that physically active Boomers (like Kathy Smith) can expect to avoid the physical disabilities that their inactive peers will suffer from.

The study, looked at 805 adults (between the ages 50 and 72 at enrollment) over the 13 years from 1989 to 2002. Each year, the participants answered survey questions about their overall health and vitality and rated themselves on their ability (or inability) to do tasks such as dressing, eating and reaching.

Study participants also reported their level of activity and were considered “active” if they exercised vigorously (running, brisk walking, swimming, biking, resistance training and/or hiking) for more than 60 minutes per week. They were considered “inactive” if they exercised 60 minutes or less per week.

While it isn’t surprising that the normal weight and active group had the lowest disability score, one of the most interesting results of this study was that the active yet overweight group had far lower disabilty than the normal weight but inactive group.

And with the leading edge of North America’s Baby Boomers about to enter their ’senior’ years, it’s nice to know that this most fitness conscious generation will be reaping what they have sown.

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