Lack Of Exercise In Older Adults

Due to an increase in age, many seniors have a decrease in their physical activity. As people get older, an active lifestyle is more important than ever. The loss of strength and stamina attributed to aging is caused by reduced physical activity. According to the National Center of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Prevention, seniors can benefit from exercise. Some of the benefits of physical activity include reducing the risk of falling and fracturing bones, helping with endurance and muscle strength, and helping pain associated with arthritis symptoms. Exercise is not only good for the body; it’s also good for brain functions, mood, and memory. A lack of exercise during adult life can lead and become associated with fatigue, body weakness,

and decrease in their physical and mental health. Lack of exercise can also decrease the body’s well-being, increase the onset of disease, decrease in their self-esteem and, and an increase in depression and anxiety. According to Newman (2009), “There is a likely decrease in energy spending, particularly in the 50- to 65-year-old age group which can contribute to the increase in body fat as we age.” When exercise decreases in the body, a hormonal change occurs as well. This can result the aging body to accumulate fat, which can be a leading cause of adult obesity. Some of the common diseases that result from being obese are diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, heart disease and certain cancers (Pietrzykowska 2015). When seniors, participate in regular physical activity, it can be the best way to prevent long illness, and decrease health care cost care.
With age approaches, there is an increased risk for specific complications that requires carefulness and attention.

Diabetes is a disease caused by the body’s inability maintains proper blood glucose levels. Diabetes can be caused to anyone, but there is a link between diabetes and obesity. Extra weight gain is the main concern for older adults because it can increase the risk for diseases such as type two diabetes, heart disease, and can increase joint problems. Being overweight places extra stress on our body in a variety of ways and diabetes can be problematic in seniors. According to Kulkarni (2014), “There are 17 million people in the United States living with diabetes and the majority of seniors with diabetes are living with type two diabetes.” This can be because the two major causes of type two diabetes are eating too much and exercising too little. According to NIH Senior Health (n.d) eating a well-planned, balanced mix of foods every day has many health benefits. Since the body is trying to make up for lost fluid and fuel, people may tend to eat more. The opposite can also happen. Even though a diabetic may eat more than usual, weight loss can occur because the muscles don't get enough glucose. According to NIH (2014) “Statistical analyses of the pooled data indicated that the excess numbers of deaths in the class III obesity group were mostly due to heart disease, cancer and diabetes.” The best way to prevent diabetes is to eat less sugar and exercise more. Many

people seek help from a nutritionist to help counsel them in making dietary changes. People with diabetes are advised to increase intake of vegetables and whole grains and to decrease animal fats and sugars.
Obesity in seniors can cause many other life-threatening diseases such as stroke, hypertension and cardiac disease. Obesity is an important determinant of cardiovascular disease. Seniors should maintain a lookout on their blood pressure to prevent hypertension. Lowering of blood pressure in older adults reduces cardiovascular risks. Studies show that the excess number of deaths in the class III obesity group were mostly due to heart disease (NIH 2014). Of course, with diet and exercise, obesity and heart disease can be fought. For the elderly, the relative risk of death from all causes and from cardiovascular disease has been found to increase with increasing basic mass index (BMI). The effects of obesity on health and other disease are many. One of the most profound of is hypertension. It is well known that blood pressure increases with weight gain and decreases with weight loss. According to researchers Wenger, Scheidt, Weber, and Cardiol, (2001) “For many years, exercise has been encouraged as an approach for controlling hypertension, but it may also be of value in the presence of other common risk factors of the elderly, particularly diabetes.” Having high blood pressure and not getting enough exercise are closely related. According to Ehsani (2001) “Endurance exercise training can lower blood pressure in older adults with mild hypertension.” Exercise doesn’t have to be running a marathon or extreme muscle building. It can be simple things such as walking around the block or doing chores.
To promote a healthy aging body, vitamins are very important.

As the age, the body needs the same amount of protein, vitamins, and minerals and, in some instances, even more nutrients. As people get older, they tend to eat less and make different food choices. According to Drewnowski and Shultz (2001) “Lower food intake among the elderly has been associated with lower intakes of calcium, iron, zinc, B vitamins and vitamin E. Low energy intakes or low nutrient density of a diet may increase the risk of diet-related illnesses and pose a health problem.” For example, vitamin B-12 is essential to the aging body. After age 50, the body's ability to absorb the vitamin often fades. This is because as aging occurs, the body doesn’t produce as much stomach acid as it used to. Vitamin B-12 is needed to break down from food sources. According to Cosgrove, Franco, Granger, Murray and Mayes (2007) “Promoting healthy dietary behaviors may have additional benefit for skin appearance in addition to other health outcomes in the population.” Another dietary factor that is essential for the aging human body is vitamin D and calcium intake. As the skin ages it starts to lose collagen and elasticity, which can be the cause of wrinkles. Aging skin is also less prominent to receiving less vitamin D, which affects the body’s ability to absorb calcium. According to Peters (2013) “Calcium plays many roles in the body.” But it is most important for building and maintaining strong bones.

Unfortunately, surveys show that as age approaches, the intake of calcium lessens in our diets. Coming up short on calcium has been shown to increase the risk of brittle bones and fractures. Vitamins are also very important because they assist in healing up wounds, and boosting our immune system. They also convert food into energy, and repair cells in the body. Good nutrition keeps our muscles, organs, and other body parts strong so we can live healthy lives.
With good nutrition, seniors can avoid depression and fatigue. Most doctors would say that fatigue and sluggishness factors are associated with a deficiency of vitamin or mineral loss. Fatigue is a classic sign of nutrient deficiencies. This caused because vitamins repair cellular energy production. As well as excessive tiredness and lack of energy, the absence of vitamins has other symptoms. Many of the elderly use caffeine to drive themselves to perform despite the fatigue symptoms. Lack of sleep can also affect our performance, mood, and cause us to have a decrease in energy. Our mood can also be based on our blood sugar levels. Instead of using caffeine as a use for energy, it is recommended to consume juices, such as apple or cranberry beverages. Another key that leads to properly, preventing blood glucose sluggishness, fatigue, headaches, craving of sugar, depression and irritability is getting the basic proper of nutrition. It is important to remain on the healthy sugars to re-energize rather than caffeine or sugar. An important of great nutrition is making sure not skip any meals. Breakfast should be rich in fiber and carbohydrates to cause energy. High fat meals, such as doughnuts and other pastries, for breakfast can cause lower energy and higher caloric intake throughout the day. Protein rich meals are also a good source of nutrition, throughout the day. Protein based meals can cause less variation in blood glucose levels and improved cognitive performance. Fatigue can also result from anemia, B12, B6, and much other vitamin deficiencies. As a result, it is important to consume the vitamins that the body might not get enough of.
At last, the cosmetic aspects of aging. One of the most noticeable features of aging is wrinkles. Wrinkles are caused by a number of factors as we get older and one of the most prominent factor of aging. As we become older, our skin becomes less elastic and more fragile. We lose the production of natural oils which cause the skin to become dry. It makes the skin appear more wrinkled. The fat in the deeper layers of the skin also becomes diminished. This makes the skin looser and creates lines. Wrinkles are natural on the skin while we get older, but there are a few things we can do to control how fast it happens. Smoking can accelerate wrinkles in the normal process in aging skin. This can be caused to the changes in blood supply in the skin. Tanning is another way that the skin could accelerate in aging. Tanning contains ultraviolet radiation which breaks down the skin’s connective tissue. In the dermis contains the collagen and elastin fibers. Without these components, the skin begins to sag, and wrinkle faster.