Alexandrea Aguilar
English 200
Draft 1
Reaching the golden years of life can be a time when senior citizens begin to lose
strength and muscle. However, the potential age that senior citizens reach in life does not
necessarily mean that they must give up on their muscle strength. Senior citizens who range
from the ages of 65 and older have the ability to fight the battle involving strength and muscle
loss.
Senior citizens who are within the age 65 years old and older walk regularly, but do not
engage in any other form of physical activity. Most of the senior citizens living in a residential
home suffer to some extent from arthritis. Additionally, a large proportion of these people,
mostly women, are afflicted to some degree with osteoporosis. Rather than being opposed to
physical activity other than walking, most of the people in the target group simply have not been
persuaded that such activity is in their own best health interests.
Target Group
For that reason, we have developed a community educational program called Get Active
and Say Active (GASA). It is a wellness program that promotes physical activity as a prevention
strategy, targeting the population of adults who are 65 years old and older. It consists of well
balanced individuals who are currently living on an independent basis. The target group is
further defined as predominantly middle-class with convenient access to retail shopping within
an urban area. Most people included in the target group are concerned about their own personal
health, and desire to live life to the fullest. Members of the target group are able to join organized
fitness programs.
. Physical activity is defined as “any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscle that requires
energy expenditure (McMurdo, 2000).” The primary purpose of physical activity is to maintain
and strengthen functional mobility and to promote a sense of well being. So the ultimate
objective here is for them to delay functional impairment and loss of physical independence.
Also, as a side note, the word ‘physical activity’ instead of ‘exercise’ when promoting physical
activity among older people because studies show that they view exercise as formal exercise
classes and routines rather than general activity (National Health Service Scotland, 1999).
Without regular physical activity senior citizens are prone to developing weakened muscles,
joints, and bones much faster than if they were to participate. Therefore, they increase their
chances of getting osteoporosis, arthritis, and the likelihood of falling and getting injured.
However, it is interesting to learn their attitudes towards the National Physical Activity
Guidelines. A couple key issues include that they say “it’s too late to exercise” and not wanting
younger people informing them to be physically active (Henley & Jackson, 3006).
For most individuals, bones are the strongest and the most calcium-rich at about 35 years old. At
about this stage of life, the ability of the body to absorb calcium through the intestines starts to
fade. The body reacts to this development by leaching calcium from the bones. Over time,
without a change in diet, osteoporosis usually develops.
Background
In women, significant hormonal changes after menopause alter an individual's calcium
reserves; thus, causing them to be approximately eight times as susceptible as are men to the
development of osteoporosis. However, there are changes other than ovarian failure which may
also lead to postmenopausal bone loss (Teitelbaum, 2007). These other changes include
diminished renal function and changes in vitamin D metabolism. Approximately one in four
women will develop osteoporosis if important adjustments are not made. Bone mass peaks in
both men and women around age 30 and both sexes begin to experience a decline in total bone
mass around age 40 (Heaney, 2007). In men, the annual fractional rate of bone mass loss is 0.3
percent throughout the remainder of life. A similar annual fraction of bone mass loss
characterizes women, until the onset of menopause. Following menopause, women experience
general bone mass loss in the range of 2.3 percent to three-percent per year with losses in
specific skeletal regions in the range of six-percent to eight-percent per year. Following the
dramatic increase in the rate of bone mass loss next to the onset of menopause, the annual rate of
bone mass loss in women declines so that by age 70, the annual rate of bone mass loss for men
and women is once again equal.
Over the 20-year period following the onset of menopause, however, skeletal bone mass
loss for women amounts to a cumulative 20 percent to 30 percent. For men, the mean
cumulative loss is around six-percent. It is not surprising, therefore, that osteoporosis prevention
efforts are directed primarily at women.Regular physical exercise has been found to be effective
as a means of maintaining bone mass amongst senior citizens (Pollock, Graves, Swart, and
Lowenthal, 2004, pp. S88-S95). The maintenance of bone mass is critical in the prevention of
osteoporosis. Educational interventions have proved successful in persuading elderly women to
participate in regular physical exercise as a means of both preventing the development of
osteoporosis and in mitigating the effects of osteoporosis that has already developed (Reginstei,
2008, pp. 195-204; Walden, 2009, pp. 397-400).
The most common type which comes from joint injury or age related wear and tear is
osteoarthritis. The symptoms that are related to osteoarthritis are joint pain, swelling, stiffness
which impairs the ability to perform daily activities, popping and creaking noises within the
joints during movements signify definite indications of osteoarthritis.
Regular physical exercise has been found to be an effective element of a program to
restore functional capacity in arthritic patients (Daly and Berman, 2004, pp. 783-801). Similarly,
regular physical exercise is effective in the prevention or slowing of functional decline
associated with arthritis. Arthritis is characterized by pain, swelling, or stiffness within the
joints. Having a lack of exercise can increase the chances of developing it by contributing to
obesity which is a risk factor of arthritis. Exercise is also important in controlling inflammation
and other symptom in arthritis suffers.
Hawaii residents age 65 or older are affected by tragic injuries due to falls and many times it
leads to death. There are many identifiable risk factors that contribute to falls and most of which
can be prevented. Falls are costly to the individual and community emotionally, physically, and
financially (Hawaii Department of Health, 2010).
According to Hawaii’s Department of Health Fall Prevention Resource Guide (2010), 37%
of total falls result in fatal injuries and 79% result in hospitalization. Even after being
discharged, almost half the seniors are moved to either a rehabilitation center or a skilled
nursing facility. With the large amount of medical attention, medical bills and health care costs
are bound to pile up. Approximately $92 million dollars per year or $252, 000 per day is spent
directly on elderly falls in Hawaii (House of Representatives, 2010). About half of the total cost
is being paid by Medicare (Hawaii Department of Health, 2010). This includes hospitalization,
rehabilitation and long-term care costs. The chunk of health care costs associated with falls can
easily be prevented through personal, physical, and environmental interventions.
Many of those who fall, or even those who are not injured, tend to develop a fear of falling.
Believe it or not, this can increase a person’s chance of falling. As a consequence, fear can lead
to limited mobility, limited physical activity, and decreased fitness (Centers for Disease Control,
2010). Debra Rose, presenter of the Hawaii Fall Prevention Conference in 2007, mentioned that
physical activity or exercise is the most promising fall prevention strategy because it effectively
improves a person’s balance. Her evidence shows that physical activity reduces fall rates up to
about 25 to 50 percent. The most common fractures are of the spine, hip, forearm, leg, ankle,
pelvis, upper arm, and hand. Such injuries make it hard to get around. Therefore, focusing on
these areas is very important.
The leading causes of death among this population group are the diseases of the heart and
circulatory group. Regular physical exercise has been found to lead to improved blood pressure
levels among persons aged 60 years old to 79 years old (Braith, Pollock, Lowenthal, Graves, and
Limarcher, 2004, pp. 1124-1128). Undesirable changes in cardiac behavior among elderly
persons can be slowed by regular physical exercise (Lowenthal, Kirschner, Scarpace, Pollock,
and Graves, 2004, pp. S5-S12).
Still, some elderly are skeptical as to whether there are any real benefits to being active