Aging

Physical inactivity (Hypokinesis) and Aging: 

Physical inactivity is a major health concern because it can lead to conditions such as heart disease, hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity, hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol) and depression 13.  Aging is the process of growing older and showing the effects of increasing age.  The health effects that start appearing as people age, especially into their senior years, are the same effects that occur from physical inactivity.  The question is: Are the effects of aging caused by physical inactivity or are they just facts of life?

Aging is a post maturational process that leads to diminished homeostasis and increased vulnerability of the organism 34.

• Normal aging -  involves inevitable changes related to physiologic processes occurring at certain stages in life (menopause)

• Usual aging – age related diseases that typically occur in older individuals

• Life expectancy – the age reached by half a given population, and varies with race, gender, and geographic influences

• Maximum life span potential –  age attained by the longest lived member of a given population

 

Aging involves a plethora of concepts.  There is the common misconception that there is only one type of aging, usually thought to be chronological age.  Chronological age is the age a person is numerically, or the time (years and months) a person has lived. The truth is that there are various aging descriptions: Developmental age (DA), chronological (actual) age, bone age, functional age, and real age. 

• Developmental age -  is a measure of a child’s development (in body size, motor skills, or psychological function) expressed in terms of age norms

•  Chronological age – age measured by time (years and months) that someone has existed

• Bone age (skeletal age) – a person’s age measured by matching their bone development (as shown by X-ray) with bone development of an average person of known chronological age

• Functional age – a person's age measured by their ability to perform tasks of everyday living

• Real age - the biological age of the body, based on how well it has been maintained

* Aging is a very complex process; it involves a great many variables that interact with one another, but physical activity seems to cut across all of the variables and contribute to the physical and psychological well-being that defines healthy aging 50

 

The following table looks at people's age and shows in percents how many have functional limitation and how many have severe functional limitation.