How many times have we all heard – “it’s just part of getting old”, “you’re not as young as you use to be” or “you can’t expect much better at your age”? Too many years of torturing your body with enormous amount of stress, not enough exercise, poor diet, too much alcohol….the list goes on.  Well guess what – it is never too late to start looking after your health – whether you are 9 or 90!  Ever cell in your body regenerates every 7 years – every single cell! So the good news is – it is NEVER too late - starting today can make a huge impact on the future of your health & wellbeing, lessening the chance of disability and dependence and need for an increased amount of medications!

Healthy aging has been defined as the avoidance of disease and disease-related disability with the maintenance of high cognitive and physical functional capacity and an active engagement with life – i.e. maintaining physical, mental, social and spiritual health.

Generally as we age we are confronted with multiple losses of health, independence, roles, possessions, friends and family. With a growing population of the elderly – 2001 saw 12.6% of the population aged over 65 years old, projected to raise towards 18.8% by the year 2021 - the importance of health promotion for the elderly in our community has never been so paramount.

Health promotion in the elderly needs to address the 4 vital aspects of health, as it does for the general population – the physical, mental, social and spiritual. That’s why we built a clinic to address all these areas of health in one place - ANC Health in Petersham.

THE MENTAL

It all starts in the MIND! You’ve got to WANT to be healthy. A healthy existence begins by making the right choices. If the desire for change isn’t greater than your resistance to change, change will not happen for you; you may as well stop reading now, have another bite of cake and a Neurofen!

Mental health provides the vitality necessary for active living, to create and achieve goals and to interact with others.  The older person has a heightened vulnerability to a decline in mental health meaning that conditions such as depression and isolation cause a significant and often ongoing disability as well as increasing the risk of mortality. 

Determining one’s “legacy” even as we age will help create and organize goals, and boost motivation. What brings meaning to your life? What are you passionate about? What is it about life that enlivens you and fills you with energy? What kind of people do you value, feel comfortable being with and get excited about spending time with? What are your values? All questions we all must ask of ourselves – no matter what age – to LIVE and LOVE life to the best of our abilities and beyond.   

THE PHYSICAL

Most people are either stuck doing the same routine day in and day out or they find it stressful trying to determine what to do for their exercise routine due to various limitations – physical, transport, cost, motivation etc. Neither are necessary, and considering the numerous therapeutic benefits of exercise such as improved sleep quality, improved metabolic rate, improved muscle tone, improved sense of well being, and many favorable changes in both hormonal and blood lipid levels, it seems necessary to have a basic strategy.

In the elderly this is of tremendous importance, as it is a simple modifiable factor that has the potential to improve the health and wellbeing considerably not just in the short term but into the future – decreasing the need for increased medication and dependency on loved ones or carers. Research has linked increased physical activity to have strong effects on self-efficacy, improvements in cardiovascular status, strength, functional capacity in day to day life, reduced anxiety and depression, improved mood and improved sense of wellbeing. 

Research has also demonstrated that of Australians aged 60-75years, 18% are sedentary and 39% are categorized as doing “insufficient” physical activity – indicating that inactivity is still a major problem amongst older Australians. 

SOCIAL

The social environment continues to influence health and wellbeing throughout the entire lifespan.  Having an extensive social integration and network has been shown to have a protective effect in health – reducing the incidence of diseases such as coronary heart disease and depression.  Positive social integration can be very beneficial as it can enhance self esteem, sense of belonging and efficacy through positive supportive actions.

For the elderly, social mobilization and reconnection with the community has been identified as a mechanism for improving overall health and quality of life. 

SPIRITUAL HEALTH

Spirituality involves the “personal quest” aspect of health – a internalized relation with one’s self and any higher power one wishes to believe – not bound by race, ethnicity, economics or class and promotes the wellness and welfare of self and others.

Spiritual health is particularly significant for older people as it does not necessarily succumb to the degenerative ageing process as it does for physical and mental facets of health.  

The message is simple - you are never too old to start living the life you have been told doesn’t exist for older persons.  Here at ANC Health we help you approach the above topics - helping prevent a wide range of health conditions.

So get up, get motivated and let us help you start LIVING & LOVING this thing we call life. 

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!