Q: I was a little concerned when I visited my parents at the seniors’ lodge last week. Someone put a treadmill in the TV lounge and has invited all residents to use it.
My mom and dad have been hard workers all of their lives. They live in a lodge where meals are provided but are largely independent.
I think that it is great that they now have a few years to take things easy. They deserve opportunities to relax.
Is that asking for too much?
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A: I appreciate your care and concern for your parents but I am concerned that you may misunderstand this situation.
Everyone wants your parents to spend the last part of their lives in rewarding and enjoyable times.
Unfortunately, the general assump-ption has been that people do best in retirement by accepting fewer and fewer responsibilities for their own well-being and this is incorrect.
Research is showing that people who commit to more challenging activities are more likely to report satisfaction with their lives than those who are less active.
For most people, physical exercise is a good thing. One of the problems with aging is that metabolism rates go down. In other words, people who are older put on more weight by eating less than they did when they were younger.
If those same older people do not have an exercise program to help them burn off their excess calories, that excess weight stays and accumulates. The danger is obesity and the medical problems associated with it.
Our bodies do degenerate over time, but the rates of degeneration can be challenged through exercise. The formula is simple: use it or lose it.
Regular muscle stretches, occasional walks and other exercises help people continue to enjoy grandchildren and events like socials at the seniors’ centre.
Leaping into an exercise program or hopping on the treadmill in your parents’ seniors’ lodge might not be the most rational thing to do. I assume that your parents and their friends will work with professional trainers and physicians to set reasonable exercise goals.
The studies are clear. Elderly people who are active find both personal and social rewards in their daily lives.
