GET MOVING
Many of the changes that people associate with, and blame on, ageing are in fact the end result of decades of that very dangerous activity - sitting! This is nothing short of a revolution in how we think about growing older, and that revolution has to be led by older people. The most important fact to understand is that ageing is not the cause of all the problems more common in older adults. Until the age of 90 the biological process of ageing has little effect on your ability to look after yourself, engage with other people or get about independently. If you reach the age of 90 and are affected only by ageing you will be independent and active, and even in work, like Her Majesty The Queen or David Attenborough, for example. Some decline in ability is inevitable but the rate at which our abilities decline is influenced not only by ageing but also by three other processes which do cause problems – disease, loss of fitness and a negative attitude to life – and all three are interrelated.
Bloomsbury published a book called Sod sitting, Get Moving! by Diana Moran, the famous Green Goddess and Muir Gray.
Walking is the single best form of exercise. Dr Gray's Walking Cure describes the benefits clearly and the linked website has useful ideas on building more walking into your daily life. You also need Walking Plus.
Stopping smoking (if you smoke) is still the single biggest and best step to take if you want to reduce your risk of an early death. Walking more is the next best thing and gives you an immediate benefit: you will feel better within a week. As the NHS Change4Life programme spells out, eat well, move more, live longer. There are, however, other easy things to do so Walking Plus is recommended, that is walking plus a better diet and fitness programme.
Many of the changes that people associate with, and blame on, ageing are in fact the end result of decades of that very dangerous activity - sitting! This is nothing short of a revolution in how we think about growing older, and that revolution has to be led by older people. The most important fact to understand is that ageing is not the cause of all the problems more common in older adults. Until the age of 90 the biological process of ageing has little effect on your ability to look after yourself, engage with other people or get about independently. If you reach the age of 90 and are affected only by ageing you will be independent and active, and even in work, like Her Majesty The Queen or David Attenborough, for example. Some decline in ability is inevitable but the rate at which our abilities decline is influenced not only by ageing but also by three other processes which do cause problems – disease, loss of fitness and a negative attitude to life – and all three are interrelated.
Bloomsbury published a book called Sod sitting, Get Moving! by Diana Moran, the famous Green Goddess and Muir Gray.
Walking is the single best form of exercise. Dr Gray's Walking Cure describes the benefits clearly and the linked website has useful ideas on building more walking into your daily life. You also need Walking Plus.
Stopping smoking (if you smoke) is still the single biggest and best step to take if you want to reduce your risk of an early death. Walking more is the next best thing and gives you an immediate benefit: you will feel better within a week. As the NHS Change4Life programme spells out, eat well, move more, live longer. There are, however, other easy things to do so Walking Plus is recommended, that is walking plus a better diet and fitness programme.