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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Focus on physical activity can help avoid unnecessary social care | | Author(s) | Scarlett McNally, David Nunan, Anna Dixon, Mahiben Maruthappu, Kenny Butler and Muir Gray |
| Journal title | BMJ 2017;359:j4609, October 2017 |
| Full text* | https://www.ageing-better.org.uk/sites/default/files/2017-12/Focus-on-physical-activity_0.pdf |
| Annotation | The drastic loss of ability that many older people experience is not an inevitable part of ageing. Ageing is a normal biological process that leads to a decline in vision, hearing, skin elasticity, immune function, and resilience but the common decline in fitness that occurs with age is different, starting around 30 years of age and accelerating more rapidly after age 45. At any age and with any combination of health problems, exercise may reverse this decline and keep a person above the threshold for needing increased care. The UK chief medical officer's guidelines recommend 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity plus twice weekly strength and balance training for adults of all ages. Any physical activity for at least 10 minutes that gets someone slightly out of breath, contributes to the 150 minute weekly minimum target and there is a dose-response effect. Health services which encourage a patient to stay in bed,or on a chair next to the bed, may aggravate the problem. Local authorities spend £8.8bn a year on care for the over 65s in England. Remaining active will reduce the need for social care. The gap between the best possible level of ability and actual ability can be reduced at any age, no matter how many long term conditions the person may have. (NL). |
| Accession Number | CPA-180124701 A |
| *Online access to the full text may require a payment |
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information about this article, and many others, can be found on the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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