Life expectancy has almost doubled over the past century and our aging population is often portrayed as a societal challenge.
Yet, we have every reason to celebrate that today Canadians can expect to reach old age and this is a tremendous societal accomplishment.
Most people do not want to just grow old, they want to “age well.” But what does aging well mean? Part of this is your physical health. With aging comes a higher risk of developing common chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease or diabetes. Some risk factors are out of our control, such as family history or gender, but there is something we can do — engage in a healthy lifestyle. The little things we do every day add up. So, what can we do?
Physical activity
Physical activity is a powerful behaviour that can reduce our risk for many common chronic diseases. The Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-high intensity physical activity per week. These guidelines purposefully use physical activity, not exercise and any activity that makes you sweat and breathe harder counts. This includes brisk walking, biking and even gardening and housecleaning.
Eat well
Diet also shapes our health as we age. Canadian guidelines recommend at least seven servings of fruit and vegetables a day and to reduce fat, sugar, and salt.
Be active and eat well. Sounds simple, so why aren’t we all doing it? Changing health habits takes effort — eating a bag of chips in front of the TV does not. We all want to make healthy choices, but sometimes life gets in the way.
Dr. Christiane Hoppmann and her team at the University of British Columbia are trying to better understand how people can turn their good intentions into action and maintain healthy lifestyles when facing barriers. We already know that planning ahead on when, where and how to be active helps people improve their physical activity. A good plan may be as simple as, “every Thursday after dinner, I’m going take a brisk 20-minute walk in my neighbourhood.”
Is it all up to you? We know that the people around us also play a profound role in shaping our health behaviours. Whether we go out to meet friends (physical activity) or share a family meal (diet), our health behaviours occur in the presence of others. This social nature of health behaviours challenges us to better understand how our friends and family may help or hinder us to meet our activity and diet goals. With the support of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, Dr. Hoppmann and her team are seeking to better understand how partners can promote each other’s health. With older couples as key partners, we aim to capture the everyday experiences that draw partners towards healthy activities. The knowledge gained will inform evidence-based strategies to improve the health of Canadians, both young and old.
Interested in participating in research? Call us at 604-822-3549. Your experience matters, tell us about it.
Theresa Pauly is a PhD student in the UBC Department of Psychology. Dr. Christiane Hoppmann is Associate Professor in the UBC Department of Psychology, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar, Canada Research Chair in Adult Development and Health and a member of the UBC Centre for Hip Health and Mobility.
