Don’t offer your seat on trains and buses to the elderly
- Relatives should urge older loves ones to walk to the shops with their bags
- Professor called on pensioners to ‘understand their role’ by staying physically fit
- ‘We need to be encouraging activity – not telling people to put their feet up’
- Number of over-65s requiring care will grow by 25% by 2025, past figures show
Claudia Tanner For Mailonline
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Giving up a bus or train seat to the elderly could harm their health, a medical expert has warned.
Standing up is good for the elderly and we should not be encouraging them to be less active.
Relatives should also urge their loves ones to take stairs rather than lifts or escalators and walk to the shops with their bags.
They should also resist getting a stair lift installed unless really needed.
Oxford professor Sir Muir Gray, who is clinical adviser to Public Health England, said pensioners must ‘play their part’ in keeping active to avoid becoming a burden to the NHS.
He called on them to ‘understand their role’ by staying physically fit and urged them to walk for at least 10 minutes a day.
An expert has called on pensioners to ‘understand their role’ in avoiding being a burden to the health and social care system by staying physically fit (stock photo)
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HOW MUCH EXERCISE OVER 65S SHOULD DO
Adults aged 65 or older who are generally fit and have no health conditions that limit their mobility should try to be active daily and should do:
- At least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity such as cycling or walking every week, and
- Strength exercises on two or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms)
Or:
- 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity such as running or a game of singles tennis every week, and
- Strength exercises on two or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms)
Or:
- A mix of moderate and vigorous aerobic activity every week. For example, two 30-minute runs plus 30 minutes of brisk walking equates to 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity, and
- Strength exercises on two or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms)
Source: NHS Choices
‘We need to be encouraging activity as we age – not telling people to put their feet up,’ he told The Sun.
‘Don’t get a stair lift for your ageing parents, put in a second banister. And think twice before giving up your seat on the bus or train to an older person. Standing up is great exercise for them.’
Retirement is not a time to rest
The NHS is set to be overwhelmed by a surge in elderly disabled people over the next decade, experts have warned.
The number of over-65s in England and Wales requiring care will grow by 25 per cent by 2025, according to a study published earlier this year in the Lancet Public Health journal.
Studies have estimated that just 2 per cent of older adults meet weekly exercise requirements.
Lead author Scarlett O’Mally, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Eastbourne District General Hospital, said old age should not be seen as the time to ‘take it easy’.
‘We need to challenge the idea that old people should rest,’ she told The Telegraph. ‘People need to keep active however old they are.
‘They need to increase activity. Every adult should do a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate physical activity every week and twice weekly strength and balance training.’
She suggested older patients while in hospital should do squats next to their beds and walk the corridors to improve their recovery time.
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