In the last century nearly 30 years has been added to the average life
expectancy in the industrialized world. But for many older adults these
later years are not a time of happiness and wellbeing.
A century ago,
the average adult in the Western world spent only 1 per cent of their
life in an ill or unhealthy state towards the end of life, but today’s
average adult spends more than 10 per cent of their life ill. Has
modern medical science extended the human life span but not managed to
extend the human health span?
People may be living longer but
are they dying longer too - of chronic diseases that cause frailty,
becoming incapacitated and incapable of taking care of themselves,
therefore dependant on family, community and society for their care.
The
estimated annual cost of managing chronic conditions in the US alone
will exceed a trillion dollars in the year 2025. Already half of those
aged sixty five and over have two or more chronic conditions and one
quarter have problems so severe as to limit their ability to perform
one or more normal activities of daily life.
It is a shame our medical model is so focused on illness and disease rather than wellness.
This is backed up by the fact that older adults;
? Consume 25 to 40 percent of all prescription drugs.
? Purchase 70 percent of all over the counter drugs.
? Use an average of 15 prescriptions per year.
? Often have up to 10 different prescriptions at one time.
How
can the over prescribing of pharmaceutical drugs lead to wellness? Why
we may ask has medical science paid so little attention to the special
attributes that enable people to live long and healthy lives, and to
remain energetic, strong and independent in their later years?
Very
few of us are actually aware that there are entire cultures where the
majority of people live productively, passionately, and vibrantly right
to the end of life. There are many people today who want to live in
harmony with their bodies and not fear the deterioration of health to
the point where we are unable to take care of ourselves. Aging should
not be a source of grief, anxiety, unhappiness and illness. Medicating
people with anti depressants and other toxic drugs is not the answer.
People
need to understand that the human body does not stay strong and healthy
when its owner leads a sedentary and inactive lifestyle. The choices
made yesterday and today effect how ones future is played out. You are
shaped by those choices. How you look after yourself and how you manage
your life, your choice about whether to exercise and stay strong in
particular has great bearing on how much strength you retain in the
later years.
Strength is extremely important as it affects so
much else connected with our health and wellness. When strength
declines along with muscle tissue and bone density to the tune of 3
kilos per decade after age 30 a downward spiral is set in place. This
degeneration accelerates as one ages leading to increased risk of loss
of physical function and mobility. The risk also increases of being the
victim of chronic illness and disease and becoming medically dependant.
Any wonder many people fear aging.
The prescription remedy to
halt this decline is within easy reach and access to everybody. A
proper exercise program that includes at least 60 % strength training
exercise along with cardio interval training should be implemented by
age 30 to offset the lack of physical activity or work that our bodies
are programmed to do. Two to three sessions per week can reverse
decades of lost strength and physical function in just a few months.
When
you take practical steps to recover your lost strength you will
discover that it is possible to age with more vigor, happiness and
inner peace than is the norm in the Western World today. We can have a
brighter future filled with pleasure , dignity and purpose at any age.
About the author
regaining lost vitality and improving the quality of your life?
Download my free ebook “I’ve Found the Fountain of Youth- Let Me Show
You Too!” here: reverse aging Carolyn Hansen is a certified fitness expert and fitness center owner who coaches clients to look and feel younger.
