Benefits of walking

The next time you have a check-up, don't be surprised if your doctor hands you a prescription to walk. Yes, this simple activity that you've been doing since you were about a year old is now being touted as "the closest thing we have to a wonder drug," in the words of Dr. Thomas Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Of course, you probably know that any physical activity, including walking, is a boon to your overall health. But walking in particular comes with a host of benefits. Here's a list of five that may surprise you.

1) It counteracts the effects of weight-promoting genes:

Harvard researchers looked at 32 obesity-promoting genes in over 12,000 people to determine how much these genes actually contribute to body weight. They then discovered that, among the study participants who walked briskly for about an hour a day, the effects of those genes were cut in half.

2) It helps tame a sweet tooth:

A pair of studies from the University of Exeter found that a 15-minute walk can curb cravings for chocolate and even reduce the amount of chocolate you eat in stressful situations. And the latest research confirms that walking can reduce cravings and intake of a variety of sugary snacks.

3) It reduces the risk of developing breast cancer:

Researchers already know that any kind of physical activity blunts the risk of breast cancer. But an American Cancer Society study that zeroed in on walking found that women who walked seven or more hours a week had a 14% lower risk of breast cancer than those who walked three hours or fewer per week. And walking provided this protection even for the women with breast cancer risk factors, such as being overweight or using supplemental hormones.

4) It eases joint pain:

Several studies have found that walking reduces arthritis-related pain, and that walking five to six miles a week can even prevent arthritis from forming in the first place. Walking protects the joints — especially the knees and hips, which are most susceptible to osteoarthritis — by lubricating them and strengthening the muscles that support them.

5) It boosts immune function:

Walking can help protect you during cold and flu season. A study of over 1,000 men and women found that those who walked at least 20 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week, had 43% fewer sick days than those who exercised once a week or less. And if they did get sick, it was for a shorter duration, and their symptoms were milder.

Source:https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/5-surprising-benefits-of-walking

Loss in late life

In this week we are sharing with you an article that was published in the British Medical Journal way back in 1998 by Prof. Brice Pitt. However, we have edited a few sections as well.

Old age can be seen as a succession of losses, gradual or sudden. Stopping work means a loss of the working role, of the companionship of fellow workers, and of a full, structured day; it means a reduction in income—and, for those who live with someone, less time apart. Some people feel much diminished by retirement, hardly know what to do with themselves, and suffer a loss of status. Most developed societies do little to enhance the image of the “senior citizen,” who is liable to be patronised, marginalised, or simply ignored and is seen as a problem for an overburdened welfare state.

There is a view, though, that successful ageing means compensating for some losses by making the best of change. So, the strains of having to commute, living for the job, and struggling to keep up are also lost; some pensions are at least adequate; there are concessions that make life a little cheaper for the over 60s. Having more time to oneself, for hobbies and interests, and to spend with partner are often regarded as benefits. Though it is usually a sudden event, retirement is (unless there is unheralded redundancy) expected and there is time to prepare for it.

Many types of losses

Sensory loss afflicts most people as they age. Presbyopia is readily remedied by glasses, presbyacusis less readily (or perhaps less acceptably) by hearing aids. These are very gradual processes, usually accepted without distress, though blindness or severe deafness is a different matter. Some memory loss may be normal with ageing; speed seems to be affected more than secondary memory, and verbal IQ is very well preserved. “Benign” memory impairment presents no serious problems, apart from the fear of dementia—which is, unfortunately, realised in a fifth of people over 80.

It is not often acknowledged, except as a rueful and ribald joke, that loss of sexual enjoyment is common and distressing, and not an inevitable part of ageing. Hormone replacement therapy and prostaglandins may do much to restore sexual function and enjoyment, but some older people are too shy to seek help, fearing that they should be “past it” and may be regarded as ridiculous or as “a dirty old man” (or woman).

The risk of serious health problems—stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure, falls and fractures, arthritis, obstructive airways disease, cancer—increase with ageing, though many old people are spared serious infirmity until a short final illness. Those who are less fortunate suffer loss of comfort, mobility, and life expectancy. There is a risk of being widowed, especially for women, which represents a major loss after 40 years or more of being together.

Secondary to health problems (which make it difficult to get out and about), to reduced means (for transport and entertainment), and to the dying off of friends and family is isolation, which may be accompanied by loneliness. In Britain, about half of people 80 and over live alone, and the extended family is stretched very thin by distance and relatively small numbers of children. Another secondary consequence of ill health, and most painful of all for many, is loss of independence.

Since long term care has become ever more arbitrarily and capriciously available from the NHS, old people who own property fear loss of estate. The desire to pass on the fruits of labour, success, sound investment, or good fortune to one’s family is fundamental, and the power to do so may increase an older person’s self esteem. Thus the costs of continuing care add to the problems of infirmity.

Reduced life expectancy is related to age and sickness. Through life a sense of immortality gives place to the shocking awareness of inevitable death, rapidly replaced (except in time of war, epidemic, or other crisis) by a feeling that it is a long time off or by denial. Birthdays like the 40th or 50th may precipitate fears of finality and an anxious review of achievements and ebbing potential. But still denial is a powerful buffer. Old people make long term plans and refer to peers as “old” but not themselves.

A new concern, as euthanasia becomes less theoretical and more real (as already in Holland and recently in the Northern Territory of Australia), may be overlong survival, where life draws on without quality and the burden of infirmity falls on the family. While euthanasia may seem a boon to some, it could be felt to be a duty by others—to stop being a drag on the family’s emotional and financial resources

Loss and depression

With so many vicissitudes it might be expected that the morbidity for depression in late life would be high. The evidence, however, is inconsistent and contradictory. While suicide rates peak in old age (for women in their late 60s, men around 80 rates of depression are lower in older than in younger people. The epidemiological catchment area study in the United States found a prevalence of 2-3% in people over 65—a fifth of the rate in young adults. Using a different instrument to diagnose depression, a survey of psychiatric disorder in general hospital inpatients aged over 16 in Oxford found that depression was least common in people over 70. Younger people might be more open, older more guarded. Older people tend to somatise their emotional complaints, and these symptoms might erroneously be attributed to organic disease. Dementia might remove from consideration people who would otherwise have been recognised as depressed, or the researchers might have happened on an unusually contented cohort.

Why might depression be less common in older people? Depression carries a high mortality, so sufferers may not survive into old age. Today’s oldest people are hardy survivors of poverty, large families, two world wars, and the pre-antibiotic, pre-welfare state era, and they tend therefore to be resilient. Possibly such benefits as central heating, television, allowances and entitlements, taken for granted by younger people, are appreciated by those who are older and once lacked them, and this offsets some of the losses; not having to work, for example, can be a great relief.

The likelihood, though, is that depression is more common in late life, but is frequently unrecognised. The evidence includes the high suicide rate, already mentioned. Barraclough’s classic study of suicide in elderly people on the south coast of England showed that most were likely to have had depressive illness, had attended their general practitioners weeks before the act, and were being treated with tranquillisers, hypnotics, analgesics, and laxatives but not antidepressants. The evidence also includes the increasing rate of first admissions for depressive illness to psychiatric units in England and Wales (though it is more marked in women, from middle life the rate increases in both sexes with every decade, falling off only in those over 85); and the apparent failure of doctors to recognise depression in older people. This lack of recognition may be due to lack of education, motivation (“drugs are likely to be toxic, counselling is hard to come by, and anyway it’s hard to teach old dogs new tricks”) or the somewhat ageist assumption that to be depressed in old age is both normal and justified.

Depressive illness in late life often follows a major adverse life event, like bereavement or acute life threatening illness, but the association may not always be that the loss precedes the depression: depression may cause loss. Depressed people do not care to take care of themselves and may become ill, have accidents, and die from self neglect as well as deliberate self harm.

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1113122/

Elderly people and extreme heat

The Kolkata summer is at its best. All you need is a jugalbandi of extreme level of humidity accompanied by high temperature! We are having both of it and it is likely to persist for a few more days. Thus, it is of vital importance that Porosh’s members who are all senior citizens be a bit cautious about extreme heat conditions which are sweeping across South Bengal.

People aged 65 or older are more prone to heat-related health concerns. Older adults can not adjust to sudden temperature changes as fast as younger people.

This may happen because of certain medicines they take or chronic illnesses that affect their ability to regulate body temperature. When not treated properly, heat-related illnesses can lead to death. But you can take steps to stay cool during hot weather.

Signs and symptoms of heat

If your body becomes overheated, you can be in danger of heat-related illness.

These illnesses can include:

• Heat syncope, or sudden dizziness.

• Heat cramps.

• Heat edema, or swelling in your legs and ankles.

• Heat exhaustion— when your body can no longer stay cool. This often appears as feeling thirsty, dizzy, weak, uncoordinated, or nauseated. You may sweat a lot and have cold and clammy skin or a rapid pulse.

• Heat stroke, which is a medical emergency. Signs can include fainting, behavior changes, high body temperature (over 104° F), dry skin, a strong and rapid pulse, a slow and weak pulse, and no longer sweating even though it’s hot.

How to stay cool

As a friend, family member, or caregiver, one can help an older adult avoid heat-related illness during the warmer months. Some things that can be done are:

• Know what medicines they are taking and find out if they affect body temperature.

• Call or connect regularly and ask if they are cool enough. Listen for patterns or shared concerns.

• Complete a care plan together to provide structure and direction. The care plan should include ways to stay cool during extreme heat and should note if any medicines the person takes may affect body temperature regulation.

If you are the one checking in on older adult, make sure they

• Stay hydrated

• Have the living space set to a comfortable temperature

• Know how to stay cool during extreme heat

• Don’t show signs of heat stress

• Seek medical care immediately if the person has symptoms of heat-related illness like muscle cramps, dizziness, headaches, nausea, weakness, or vomiting

We hope you have enjoyed reading the article. However, it is important to remember that while it has been written keeping in mind senior citizens, the above points mentioned above are equally relevant cutting-across various age groups.

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/aging/emergency-preparedness/older-adults-

extreme-heat/index.html