Tuesday, January 18, 2011

What is Healthy Aging?

Age occurs in all of us, since the beginning of our lives, all the time. Only later on do we see the negatives of this. Negative factors in aging can include less mental acuteness, increased chance of contracting diseases like cancer, and worse physical shape. (Just to name a few) However, there are plenty of ways to age healthier, and diminish the impact. 

Healthy aging can be defined as one's efforts, both mental and physical, to stay sharp and in shape to maintain an ideal way of life. Aging is a slow process, not a disease. Through determination and work, we can reduce many of its effects.

Examples of healthy aging practices:
-Regular physical exercise (the amount and type depends heavily on the individual) 
-A nutritious, balanced diet
-Working your brain (such as word puzzles, reading, taking classes)
-Visiting your doctor and being aware of potential illnesses that could affect yo

Examples of non-healthy aging practices, essentially the opposite:
-Laziness, long periods of inactivity
-A poor diet filled with 'junk food,' or restrictive diets

1 comment:

  1. Riley,
    Great post! I specifically liked that you mentioned that aging is a process, not a disease. I think that sometimes our society treats it as such.
    Also, I agree that only later do we see the "negatives" of aging. I think research on this is interesting in trying to identify when exactly these "negatives" start to take place and why some people experience problems sooner than others.

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