Physical Activity and Its Benefit for Aging People

An international consensus statement on physical activity, fitness and health (Bouchard et al 1994) identifies six areas affected by physical exercise: body shape, bone strength, muscle strength, flexibility skeleton, physical fitness and motor fitness of metabolism. Other areas benefit from physical activity is cognitive function, mental health and adaptation to society. Exercise was defined as a regular activity that follows a specific pattern, and whose purpose is to achieve desirable results in terms of fitness, as a better general health or physical functioning. Physical activity can be described as a continuum of behavior physical in:

1) activities of daily living,
2) instrumental activities of daily living,
3) activity and exercise in general,
4) exercise to achieve physical fitness and strength, and
5) physical training.

Those who start physical exercise at an early age tend to continue doing so later. Thus what a person does with his leisure time seems to shape itself to leisure and the development of this. In 1995, a group of WHO experts said the effects positive physical exercise on health. They are also mentioned that physical inactivity is a unnecessary waste of human resources. The WHO panel noted that it is known that passive lifestyle; basically sedentary is a major risk factor for having poor health and reduced functional capacity.

As age increases, reduced physical activity and the increasing number of chronic diseases that frequently arise in consequence, create often a vicious circle of biomarkers of disease and disability resulting lower the level of physical activity, which in turn has adverse effects on functional capacity and exacerbates disability caused by disease. A greater level of physical activity can help prevent many of the negative effects that aging has on functional capacity and health. Benefit of exercise and physical activity is also the best way to break the vicious circle and take the path of progressive improvement. This, finally, helps older people and increases their level of independence.

The benefits to be derived from an exercise of reasonable considerably more important than the potential adverse effects. These benefits include improved functional ability, health and quality of life, with a corresponding reduction in healthcare costs for both the same person and for society as a whole. Physical activity is not any immediate problem, although an excessively intense exercise can cause injury or illness (or both) and subsequent costs. This type of analysis based the thrifty benefit provides a useful basis for evaluating campaigns to promote the physical activity as a way to attain better health.