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SENIORS LIFESTYLES Live longer live healthier Slow down aging with regular activity Members of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association are reminding older Canadians that it's never too late to take the first step towards a longer and healthier life, including regular exercise. Contrary to traditional thinking, regular exercise helps, not hurts, most seniors. As adults age, their muscles lose elasticity and mass, joints and spinal discs lose water, and bones lose density. Regular exercise can delay the natural changes that occur with aging. Physiotherapists are advising older adults to participate in 30-60 minutes of moderate activity most days of the week. Walking is an easy, low-skill, inexpensive and convenient mode of incorporating physical activity into daily life. During inclement weather, darker winter months, or hot, humid summer months, some other ways to be physically active is to climb stairs, attend exercise classes for older adults, join a mall-walking club, swim at a local pool or go out dancing. More than two-thirds of older adults don't engage in regular physical activity According to the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, inactivity tends to increase with age. By age 75, about one in three men and one in two women do not engage in any physical activity. The loss of strength and stamina attributed to aging is in part caused by reduced physical activity. The Surgeon General in the U.S. has issued a report warning people-- including older adults-- that physical inactivity is a major risk to their health. Physical inactivity increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, high blood pressure, obesity, osteoporosis, muscle and joint disorders, and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Physical inactivity doesn't just hurt the individual-- there is a dollar cost as well. Current estimates place the cost of physical inactivity in Canada at $5.3 billion ($1.6 billion in direct costs and $3.7 billion in indirect costs) and the cost of The Fit & Fun classes draw a regular following of seniors every Wednesday morning from 10:15 to 11:15 a.m.at the Acton Community Centre. Under the leadership of personal trainer Heinz Rusche, regulars (from foreground) Catherine Barrett, Doreen McIntyre, Eileen Dix, Nives Bozic and Irma Marlin took part in the cycling exercise. Photo by Ted Brown At The Georgetown Hearing Clinic, we are committed to your individual hearing needs. Find out how we can help.