All of us want to live a long and prosperous life. However, we can’t avoid ageing over time. So, are you ageing healthy? How can ageing affect your health? Do you know the concept of active healthy ageing? Or are you the caregiver of your elderly parents? If yes, then this will be important for you as well. So, let’s dive in.
Ageing in Sri Lanka
Statistics for the year 2024 shows that 12.3% of Sri Lanka’s population is over the age of 65. This number is expected to rise up to 21.5% in 2050. This rising number can have implications on the country’s economy in different ways like income support for the lengthened retirement period, increased consumption and production, changes in the structure of the labour market, changes in housing, needs for transport and expenditure on health. [1]
Biology and common age-related conditions
Ageing is a process that happens because of all the damage that happens to the body and its cells over time. This leads to a gradual decrease in physical and mental capacity and increases the risk of disease. If we talk about increased risk of disease, there are some common conditions that older people can experience like gradual hearing, vision and memory loss, back and neck pain, diabetes and other chronic diseases. [2]
The elderly population is an important fragment of every society that connects a country’s past to the present. Therefore, you should have the opportunity to age healthily, actively and gracefully. This brings us to the question, what is healthy ageing?
What is Healthy Ageing and why does it matter?
The World Health Organization (WHO) states that healthy ageing is “the process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables wellbeing in older age.” [3] This concept also includes a person’s ability to meet their basic needs, learn, grow and make decisions, be mobile, build and maintain relationships and contribute to society. Active healthy ageing increases the chances to work for a longer period of time, strengthens mental and physical functioning, reduces health care costs, reduces the chances of isolation and maintains healthy social relationships.
Tips for Healthy Aging?
How can we stay active and healthy as we age? This includes 03 segments, which are diet, exercise and preventive healthcare.
0.1 Diet
Elders can experience chronic diseases as mentioned before like diabetes, heart diseases and high blood pressure, muscle loss, malnutrition, appetite and weight loss, vitamin deficiencies, constipation and lactose intolerance over time. Therefore, you should include
- Lean proteins like chicken, fish, eggs and bean
- Fruits and vegetables in different colours
- Whole grains like red rice, corn and finger millet (kurakkan)
- Low fat milk and milk products
- Foods and products high in fiber
- Foods and products low in salt [4]
Additionally, you can add nutritional supplements to their diet as well. It would be preferable if you came in powdered or liquid form and are high in vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein and also lactose-free.
02. Exercise
Exercises help the elders to keep moving. It gives you various physical and mental benefits like maintaining and losing weight, reducing chronic diseases, improving sleep quality and brain functioning along with maintaining mobility, balance and flexibility. If it’s hard for you to do hard exercises, you can do light and moderate activities like,
- Walking
- Riding a bike
- Dancing
- Yoga
- Lifting weights
- Doing work around the house [5]
03. Preventive HealthCare
Preventive healthcare is taking actions to prevent diseases and injuries. Even though it is important for everyone, it is especially important for older adults because the risk of getting health problems improves with age. Usually, this includes health checkups, vaccinations and health advice. They should especially get frequent health checks for diseases like breast and colon cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure. A healthy diet and exercise can already be added to the list as preventive actions. Additionally, limiting alcohol and preventing smoking can go a long way too.
References
- “Sri Lanka | Demographic Changes,” Economic and Social Commision for Asia and the Pasific, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.population-trends-asiapacific.org/data/LKA. [Accessed 03 April 2024].
- World Health Organization, “Ageing and Health,” World Health Organization, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ageing-and-health. [Accessed 03 April 2024].
- W. H. Organization, “Healthy ageing and functional ability,” World Health Organization, 26 October 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/healthy-ageing-and-functional-ability. [Accessed 03 April 2024].
- National Concil on Aging, “Healthy Eating Tips for Seniors,” National Council of Aging, 23 February 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.ncoa.org/article/healthy-eating-tips-for-seniors. [Accessed 03 April 2024].
- NHS Choices, “Exercise,” NHS, 08 October 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/physical-activity-guidelines-older-adults/. [Accessed 03 April 2024].