What you can do at 65-plus to be healthier
By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
Short of inventing a time machine and traveling back to your youth to start healthful habits, the best time to begin adopting healthful habits is now. It’s never too late to make changes that can improve your health.
“It’s never too late, even in your 70s or 80s, to take care of your health,” said geriatrician Sharon Brangman, on the faculty at SUNY Upstate Medical University. “Your body will always respond to things you’re doing to maintain health.”
The American Heart Association’s 2018 study “Impact of Healthy Lifestyle Factors on Life Expectancies in the US Population” looked at five different healthy lifestyle behaviors and drew correlations between total lifespan and the age at which people adopt these healthy behaviors. The study looked at how many years people would gain if they changed lifestyle behaviors.
1. Move more.
People who are active typically enjoy a better quality of life than those who remain sedentary, providing they remain safe and avoid injury. Most people who are generally healthy can engage in activities such as walking, swimming and using fitness bands and weight machines.
“Probably the most important thing is exercise and movement,” said Brangman, who is also a distinguished service professor, chairwoman of geriatric medicine and director of the Upstate Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease. “A lot of people cannot afford to get a personal trainer or join a gym but get some help in creating an exercise program.”
Many local gyms offer Silver Sneakers programs as part of Medicare coverage. Selecting an activity that’s enjoyable helps make it something you can stick with, according to Season Bonino, physical therapist and clinical associate professor at Nazareth University. Don’t just become a “weekend warrior.”
“What can you do every day in your house to keep you flexible and more mobile?” she asked. “Do 10 sit-to-stand movements one to two times per day as that helps with the strength in your legs.
“Even if you’re home all day, things add up and can make a huge difference in your ability to stay mobile and strong. It doesn’t have to be that you go to the gym and lift heavy weights and run on the treadmill. Just doing little things like standing while you fold laundry. Even that makes a difference.”
2. Kick the habit.
Tobacco products offer no benefit and cause tremendous harm.
“If you smoke, quit smoking,” said April Ho, lead dietitian at URMC’s Center for Community Health & Prevention. “Compared to individuals who smoked a pack a day — 15 to 24 cigarettes daily — those who quit smoking by age 65 lived on average 2.5 to 3 years longer.”
It’s better to completely eliminate sources of tobacco rather than shifting from cigarettes to vaping or from cigars to chew. No form of tobacco use is safe. The New York Quitline (www.nyssmokefree.com) can offer free resources that help.
3. Eat right.
Your body relies on the right nutrients to rebuild damaged cells and ward off illness.
“Align your eating pattern with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans,” Ho said. “When dietary patterns were assessed to see how closely they aligned with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, those who achieved the highest quintile of adherence, the top 20% of participants by age 65 lived on average 3.5 years longer than those in the lowest quintile of adherence, the bottom 20%.”
Focus on whole foods, produce, lean sources of protein and healthful fats like those sourced from produce.
4. Eat less.
As people tend to become more sedentary in older adulthood, it’s easy to let pounds pile on. Cutting back on calories represents an effective strategy in weight management. A primary care provider can help set a good calorie range.
5. Hydrate sufficiently.
Drinking half your weight in ounces daily should provide enough hydration. A 150-pound person should drink 75 ounces of water, for example. Try livening it up with a splash of fruit juice. But try to minimize sugary and caloric beverages. Many older adults under-hydrate to avoid getting up to use the bathroom during the night. However, drinking more during the day and less after 7 p.m. can minimize this effect.