Setting Goals for Senior Health

Jun 16, 2010 Robert McKelvie

Senior health can be enhanced by setting realistic goals and creating and implementing action plans to achieve them. With the huge population bulge of baby boomers about to become 65 over the next 10 years, setting goals for senior health should be a priority for many individuals and communities. The effects of aging can be mitigated by lifestyle changes and the adoption of healthier habits. The costs incurred by an aging population are unnecessarily high and need to be brought under better control. More knowledge and setting goals for senior health can help point the way toward effective solutions.

Aging Shouldn’t Ruin Senior Health

Too often physical and mental decline are accepted as part of the aging process. Although aging does cause some decline, much of the strength, vigor, and sharpness lost is due to inactivity. The loss of independence is not only a burden for those involved, it also generates unnecessary costs through nursing homes and other dependent care. Greater physical activity over the years can help seniors maintain independence longer and lower the costs of care they receive.

Most people, including seniors themselves, attribute the loss of function and mental decline to aging itself. This belief causes most seniors to slow down and reduce their activity when they should be doing exactly the opposite to maintain muscle, strength, balance, cardiorespiratory fitness and to control weight.

Here are seven important benefits of exercise that apply to everyone, including seniors and those over 50, cited by the Mayo Clinic:

Exercise improves the mood. Exercisers feel better after physical activity.
Exercise fights chronic diseases. Prevent or manage a number of chronic conditions with regular physical activity, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, some types of cancer.
Exercise helps manage weight. Physical activity burns calories. The more activity that is done, the more calories burned and the lower likelihood of weight gain.
Exercise boosts energy levels. Besides conditioning the heart and lungs, physical activity delivers more oxygen and nutrients to organs and tissues throughout the body.
Exercise promotes better sleep and a good sleep improves concentration, productivity, and mood.
Exercise can improve one’s sex life.
Exercise can be fun! Physical activity can involve others through games or group activities. People can find activities that they really enjoy doing if they put their minds to it.

Setting Goals Helps Senior Health

Goal-setting theory and research has demonstrated that people achieve more when they set specific, challenging but realistic goals. Important attributes of good goals follow the SMART acronym:

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-bound

Goals work by focusing attention on important tasks, by marshalling effort and persistence to complete tasks, and by motivating the development of strategies and action plans capable of achieving the goals. But it is critical that seniors set goals that that feel are important and involve tasks that they feel they can accomplish.

The article “Setting Goals for Personal Development” contains more detailed guidance on setting goals.

Areas of Senior Health Meriting Goals

There are many areas of senior health that can benefit from the setting of goals. Some of the most important areas are:

aerobic exercise, the critical physical fitness component because of its many health benefits
strength training, very important for senior strength and stamina and to support muscle, joint and bone health
flexibility, important for functioning of joints through their full range of motion
balance, to prevent a particular hazard of seniors – breaking bones by falling
bone health to prevent osteoporosis
weight loss or weight control, to correct or prevent obesity or overweight conditions that jeopardize health
brain health, to sustain brain fitness through the end of live and to reduce the risk of dementia
eating properly, to obtain vital nutrition and to avoid damaging diets and harmful food choices

Here are a few examples of goals in these areas:

Aerobic exercise: Develop the habit of briskly walking every day for 30 to 60 minutes within six months, working up to those levels gradually. (It’s important that seniors obtain medical clearance from their doctors before undertaking any exercise programs.)
Strength training: Do one set of eight to ten strength exercises, 10-15 reps per exercise, twice a week, starting today. (Strength training is very important to fight aging and the effects of inactivity.)
Flexibility: Do gentle stretching exercises three times a week as part of the aerobic exercise cool-down. (Hold stretches for 15 to 30 seconds.)

Improve Senior Health through Goal Setting

Allowing the health of seniors to deteriorate because of misinformation and physical inactivity is costly for all involved, including taxpayers. The four key areas of senior health that merit goals to help lower serious health risks are aerobic exercise, strength training, brain fitness, and weight loss/control. The neglect of these important pillars of senior fitness can have disastrous consequences for the health of seniors, those who love them, and the society that must attend to their ill health and lack of independence. An ounce of prevention takes effort but is well worth it, and specific goals can energize and motivate the effort required.

Reference:

nihseniorhealth.gov, “Exercise and Physical Activity for Older Adults” (accessed June 16, 2010)