Chief Medical Officer: “A healthier person will maintain their independence longer in any given environment. It is likely they will also have greater enjoyment of life”
Falling sick does not have to be inevitable. People should adopt “old-fashioned” methods to stay healthy as they get older, says Chris Whitty, England’s most senior doctor, in the 2023 Chief Medical Officer’s Annual Report – “Health in an Ageing Society”.
Despite the wealth of evidence supporting the benefits of physical activity, there’s a worrying trend of decreasing activity levels among older citizens in England. It’s crucial to address this issue by encouraging and promoting physical activity across all age groups, particularly among the elderly.
People live longer and, by 2050, a quarter of those in the UK will be over 65, but Sir Chris argued that these extra years will not have to be spent in poor health.
Whilst highlighting the concerning trend of declining physical activity among older adults (a third of 75 to 85-year-olds and 57% of people aged 85 and over being physically inactive), he says “There are a lot of things people can do themselves which will delay the point where they first have disability and then multi-morbidity”.
“A healthier person will maintain their independence longer in any given environment. It is likely they will also have greater enjoyment of life”.
Sir Chris Whitty advocates for a return to “old-fashioned” methods of staying healthy, suggesting people should turn to methods that are known to work, emphasising that preventative measures can significantly impact our quality of life as we age.
He said maintaining exercise for the longest possible time, for example, was known to have a “huge positive impact on both physical and mental health in old age”, while eating plenty of fruit and veg cuts the risk of high blood pressure, chronic heart disease and stroke.
“A key message is that any amount of physical activity is better than none.”
His report further pointed to strong evidence “that being physically active, eating a healthy, balanced diet, not smoking and moderating alcohol consumption improves health outcomes and increases the proportion of life spent in good health”.
