Levels of Physical Activity and Older People - Literature review Example

Introduction World Health Organisation (2003) mentioned the importance of physical activity for healthy ageing, improving and maintaining quality of life and independence as people age. As per ‘WHO’s calculations, the number of people of 60 years old is projected to double in the next 20 years (World Health Organisation 2003, p.5&6). Old age is a stage in which people normally reduces their physical activities because of the exhausting health. At the same time the reduction of physical activity may lead to chronic physical and mental problems like, high BP, cholesterol, diabetics, heart diseases, anxiety, depression, negative thoughts, Dementia, Alzheimer’s etc. Physical activity levels in older people in rural areas are comparatively less when we consider the urban elder people because of social, economical and cultural factors. The older generation of UK in general and that of Ireland in particular are very much reluctant in doing physical activities to maintain their physical and mental health (See appendix for the statistics). The rural areas of Ireland are sparsely populated with no cities or major towns, which made the problem even worse. Moreover transportation services like the train services are less to the rural areas of Ireland which made this area less developed. People over the age of 55 (Older people) in this region are not engaging in physical activity levels as laid down by the Irish Government. This paper is written as a literature review concentrating mainly on the older generation of the Irish people especially in rural areas. Aim of this literature review is to prove that lack of infrastructure facilities, development and awareness forced rural Irish older people to stay away from physical workouts. In this paper, I have reviewed relevant journals/ articles mainly from UK, America and Australia to establish the need of physical activities for older people. Literature Review According to the World Health Organization (WHO), physical inactivity causes 2 million deaths a year worldwide and increases all causes of mortality (Medibank 2007, p.8). The advancements in science and technology and increasing living standards are the major reasons for the physical inactivity. For example, walking and cycling were the major means, people used to travel from one place to another earlier. But the arrival of new technology oriented industrialization, revolutionised the human life and people started to give up the traditional means of transportation, which once helped them to stay fit. Caspersen et al, (1985) defined physical activity as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that result in energy expenditure (Caspersen et al, 1985, p. 126). All body movements are not physical activities. Physical activity will result in considerable amount of energy expenditure from body. Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament that the prevalence of obesity in England had tripled over the last 20 years and continues to rise. Moreover, most adults in England are now overweight, and one in five is obese. Sir John also mentioned that obesity accounted for 18 million days of sickness absence and 30,000 premature deaths in 1998 and treating obesity costs at least £½ billion a year (National Audit Office, 2001). It is difficult to estimate the economic costs UK suffers every year, because of obesity related problems. Healthcare sector is generally considered as a non-productive sector and the increased spending in this area is a burden for the government as nothing in return is obtained for the country. In other words, compared to the youths, old generation is incapable of contributing anything to the productive sector and the increased expenditure in their healthcare segment is a burden for the government. Considering the above fact, old generation should give up their lazy attitude towards physical workouts and should find enough time for physical workouts in order to reduce the government spending in this segment and to contribute to the country in an indirect manner. The department of education document, The Economic Impact of Sport in Ireland (2004), pointed out that physical activities can promote social integration and psychological health along with physical strength (National Disability Authority, 2005). Moreover, Cavill et al, (2006) mentioned that physical activity is a fundamental means of improving people's physical and mental health. It reduces the risks of many noncommunicable diseases and benefits society by increasing social interaction and community engagement (Cavill et al, 2006). Department of Health UK, (2004) and US Department of Health and Human Services (2008) were also raised similar opinions. Department of Health UK (2004) mentioned that physical activity helps people feel better through improvement in mood, reduced anxiety and enhanced self-perceptions. Physical activity can also help people to function better through alleviation of stress, and improved sleep, and – in older people –through some aspects of cognitive function (Department of Health UK, 2004, p.6). Similarly US Department of Health and Human Services (2008) pointed out that physical activity gives people a chance to have fun, be with friends and family, enjoy the outdoors, improve their personal appearance, and improve their fitness so that they can participate in more intensive physical activity or sporting events (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2008). Many people have the illusion that physical activity may strengthen the body only. But physical activity can contribute more to the mental health than physical health. Physical activity increases the blood circulation all over the body in general and to the brain in particular. The increased brain activities because of good blood circulation may force the individual to get rid of the negative thoughts and to concentrate only on the positive aspects of life. Old people are vulnerable to negative thoughts as mentioned earlier and physical workouts can increase positive thinking among them. Generally, old people are vulnerable to mental problems like anxiety and depression because of their concerns about death. Nobody knows what is going to happen after death. The fear of death may make them physically and mentally inactive. The inactiveness may cause obesity or overweight and physical problems may creep up. On the other hand, engagement in some kind of physical activity may prevent them from obesity related health problems and the negative thoughts related mental problems. Four most, common problems linked to obesity are: Heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, High blood, pressure and Osteoarthritis. Obesity in the population increases with age and people in lower socio-economic groups, particularly women, have an increased risk of obesity (Tackling Obesity in England, 2001, p.5&12). All the above problems are mostly associated with older people which underline the necessity of physical workouts for older people to get rid of the excess calories deposited in the form of fats. The National Survey of Lifestyles Attitudes and Nutrition (SLÁN 2007), showed that only 41% of Irish adults took part in moderate or strenuous physical activity for at least 20 minutes three or more times a week. This level of activity has not changed much over the past ten years – 40% in 2002 compared with 38% in 1998 (Department of Health and Children, Health Service Executive 2009, p.5). The above statistics is inclusive of statistics from both urban and rural areas. It includes the youths and older people. But it is quiet possible that the percentage of youths in the above list might be more compared to the older people. In other worlds, the number of older people engaged in physical activities is even lesser than 41%. Moreover, older people in rural areas might be very few in numbers in the above list. 26 per cent of people aged over 65 live alone in Ireland with loneliness and depression as the major mental problems among them (Briefing Paper on Proposed Cuts Affecting Older People, 2009, p.2). It is evident that the above figure may again go up if we account for people above 55 years of age. Rural areas of Ireland have less population compared to other parts which deny ample socializing opportunities for this community. Socializing is one of the major requirements for the adults to keep their mental health intact. Nearly one third of those over 55 years in Ireland took no exercise at all in a typical week (Department of Health and Children 2000, p.26) (See the appendix). With the onset of middle age, Irish life expectancy figures begin to slip down the EU rankings and by the age of 65 years, life expectancy for both men and women is the lowest in the EU (Department of Health and Children 2000, p.44). These statistics clearly indicates the lack of physical workouts in ageing population in Ireland. Even though many guidelines were given to the older population by the health authorities in Ireland, nothing seems to be working effectively. Department of Health and Children, Health Service Executive (2009), explained The National guidelines for physical activity in Ireland for older people as follows: ‘At least 30 minutes a day of moderate intensity activity on five days a week, or 150 minutes a week. Focus on aerobic activity, muscle-strengthening and balance (Department of Health and Children, Health Service Executive, 2009, p.15). These guidelines also advice that all older people should be active and some physical activity is better than none. But all these guidelines are seemed to be resting on papers alone. In practice, nobody is interested in obeying the government guidelines. The Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH) acknowledges that health is influenced by a wide range of social determinants, including economic, environmental, social and biological factors and transport is one among them. Department of Regional Development (DRD) can play a key role in tackling obesity in Northern Ireland through the Regional Transportation Strategy. Obesity levels in Northern Ireland are a major cause for concern as it is identified as a major risk factor for a number of diseases including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some forms of cancer.  Increasing physical activity levels in Northern Ireland through changing transport patterns can assist in addressing the obesity epidemic (Institute of Public Health in Ireland, 2009). Travel behaviours have significant effect on physical and mental health especially among the older people. Transportation facilities in rural areas of Ireland are limited and people normally use private cars for their transportation needs. Sustainable travels like cycling and walking need to be encouraged in rural areas of Ireland in order to reduce the obesity related problems. Walking and cycling like activities can increase the physical strength and also the much needed socializing opportunities for older people. In Ireland, trends towards inactivity are particularly marked among those with less than complete second level education and have climbed for instance from 37% to 56% of such 55 year old men and in all the female age groups (Centre for Health Promotion Studies 2003, p.7).Rural population is comparatively less educated than the urban population and they have less knowledge about the need of physical activities in keeping the health intact. Department of Health UK (2004) explained that physical activity can promote musculoskeletal health and mental health and well-being which are more pronounced in older adults and are particularly important for them because the diseases involved – most notably osteoporosis, circulatory diseases and depression – affect an older person’s ability to maintain an independent lifestyle (Department of Health UK, 2004, p.3). Conclusions Physical activity is a must for all the people especially for the older generation. Old age is a period during which the body might be weakened and diseases can easily attack the body. Physical workouts are one way of keeping a sound body and mind. Irish people are not free from the dangers of lack of physical workouts. In fact compared to other parts of the world, obesity related problems are more in Ireland, especially in rural areas. Injudicious use of travelling mediums, lack of education and lack of facilities and population seem to be the major reasons for the above problem. It is necessary to educate the Irish population about the need of physical workouts and its indirect effect on economic development of the country. Irish public should remember that the government can save billions of money which they spend on elderly care or healthcare, if all the people spent at least 30 minutes daily for physical workouts. References 1. Briefing Paper on Proposed Cuts Affecting Older People, (2009),Retrieved on March 3, 2010 from http://www.activeirl.ie/download.php?download_file...%20final-1.pdf 2. Caspersen CJ, Powell KE, Christensen GM (1985) Physical activity, exercise, and physical fitness: definitions and distinctions for health-related research. Public Health Reports, 1985, 100:126–131. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1424733/?page=1 3. Centre for Health Promotion Studies (2003). The national health & lifestyle surveys 2002 - survey of lifestyle, attitudes and nutrition (SLÁN). Dublin, Department of Health and Children. 4. Cavill N, Kahlmeier S, Racioppi F (2006). Physical activity and health in Europe: evidence for action. World Health Organisation, 2006. Retrieved on 3 March 2010 from http://www.euro.who.int/InformationSources/Publications/Catalogue/20061115_2 5. Department of Health: UK (2004). At least five a week: evidence on the impact of physical activity and its relationship to health. http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/08/09/81/04080981.pdf 6. Department of Health (2001). Tackling obesity in England. Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General. London, The Stationery Office, 2001 http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/nao_reports/00-01/0001220.pdf. 7. Department of Health and Children (2000). The National Health Promotion Strategy 2000-2005 Stationery Office, Dublin. 8. Department of Health and Children, Health Service Executive (2009) The National Guidelines on Physical Activity for Ireland, ISBN 978-1-906218-27-0 9. Institute of Public Health in Ireland, (2009), IPH response to Department for Regional Development Regional Transportation Strategy Review, Retrieved on March 3, 2010 from http://www.publichealth.ie/publications/iphresponsetodepartmentforregionaldevelopmentregionaltransportationstrategyreview 10. Medibank (2007), The cost of physical inactivity. What is the lack of participation in physical activity costing Australia? Medibank, Australia. 11. National Disability Authority (2005) Promoting the Participation of People with Disabilities in Physical Activity and Sport in Ireland. NDA, Dublin, 2005. 12. National Audit Office (2001), Press Release - Tackling Obesity in England, Retrieved on March 3, 2010 from http://www.nao.org.uk/news/0001/0001220.aspx 13. Tackling Obesity in England (2001), National Audit Office, HC 220 Session 2000-2001: 15 February 2001BY THE 14. US Department of Health and Human Services (2008). 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. US Department of Health and Human Services. www.health.gov/paguidelines 15. World Health Organisation (2003). Health and Development Through Physical Activity and Sport by the World Health Organisation 2003 – WHO/NMH/NPH/PAH/03.2 Appendix (Department of Health: UK 2004, p.11) (Centre for Health Promotion Studies, 2003, p.52) (Centre for Health Promotion Studies, 2003, p.53) Read More