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The life expectancy of older Americans continues to increase, with persons aged 65 years or older representing the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population. While prolongation of life remains an important public health goal, of even greater significance is preservation of the capacity to live independently and to function well during late life. To continue maintaining quality of life as our parents and grandparents age, steps must be taken as the natural aging process always wins in the end.
Mobility - the ability to walk without assistance - is a critical characteristic for functioning independently. Those who lose mobility have higher rates of morbidity, disability, and mortality. Reductions in muscle strength and poor balance may lead to mobility limitations and further disability. The loss in muscle strength may be attributed to the aging process, disuse of muscles, disease or malnutrition. Studies have shown that the rate of lower limb strength lost is approximately 2.5–4% per year after 75 years of age according to the National Institute of Health. The combined effect of muscle and balance impairment increases the risk of walking disability compared to having only one or other of these impairments. While decreased physical activity may accelerate the loss of muscle mass and strength, physical activity and exercise has shown to promote healthy aging and prevent mobility limitations. Thus strength and balance training (SBT) is an important component of physical activity guidelines for older adults and is also recommended for the prevention of falls and disability. According to the Center on Aging, in the same way that physical training improves physical abilities, Visual and Cognitive Training (VisCog or brain training) improves cognitive (or mental) abilities. VisCog training programs seem more likely to work if they are delivered in a group format, contain multiple cognitive strategies (e.g., the use of imagery to aid memory and repetition), and grow more challenging as performance improves.
Less than 10% of the population aged 75 years or over participate in strength training at the level recommended in physical activity guidelines provided by the National Institute of Health. Therefore, even once-weekly training would represent a substantial increase in physical activity among the frailest population. In addition, once-weekly training could reasonably be expected to help in the prevention of age-related loss of muscle strength.
See how weekly training can improve your balance and ultiamtely your quality of life
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