Importance of Active Aging for Seniors
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ScribdTranslationsImportance of Active Aging for Seniors
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ScribdTranslationsIntroduction
Active aging.
Human beings begin to age from the first second of life, which
it implies that throughout their life they acquire certain skills, whether these are
cognitive, physical, and psychological, among others. These skills increase over time.
over the years, but in older adults they decrease relatively although not completely.
They lose some ability to organize their thoughts quickly and appropriately, and therefore
and this affects their daily life, bringing with it an imbalance in their emotions,
feelings, therefore, a program where seniors can maintain and
develop their capacities, whether cultural, social, or sports-related, in which
they can prove their worth so that in this way they have a proper aging
active.
Certain authors and research mention that developed countries have
with programs where older adults have greater inclusion in the various
areas such as educational, political, and social, among others. Aging does not
it implies an illness, dependence, and necessarily a lack of productivity,
As years are added to life, people are also incorporated.
various significant modifications, resulting from the natural process of aging, which
involve changes in internal and external structures. The purpose of this
Research is to make known how active aging is gaining importance.
currently since it is a matter of great relevance, through the search for
articles and studies conducted over time on this topic.
General Objective:
Analyze personal autonomy, carrying out cultural and family activities, and
social aspects that occur in active aging through a literature review.
Specific Objective:
Increase the active role of older people in society and have their value reverberate.
in other generations.
Development
For the World Health Organization, active aging is the process of
make the most of opportunities for physical, mental, and social well-being
throughout life, therefore its goal is to extend the quality of life,
productivity and life expectancy at advanced ages with minimal prevalence of
disability. In aging, it is important to remain active in the three areas
physical, social, and mental. On the other hand, active aging is a phenomenon that has
its origin in a set of multifactorial effects, from the point of view
psychosocial, not only considers aging from medical care, but also
incorporates factors from the economic, behavioral, and sociocultural environment that
benefit the aging of people.
Human beings always have to be in motion, so that in this way
their muscles are always active, that is to say to leave behind sedentarism and recover the
physical activity to avoid muscle problems in the future, aging
active refers to the activity of the elderly, how they respond to the
different activities that are contemplated at this age, whether they are physical, mental, and
social, resulting in a more homogeneous aging and therefore the
creation of different activities that help improve the quality of life such as
in the case of participation in recreational and leisure activities, cultural and social work, and
commitment to the community and within the family (Casado, Lezcano, & Rodríguez,
2015, p. 17.
To promote active aging, health education is a powerful
tool (Davey, 2002, p. 15), traditionally developed in contexts
in-person events that are now joined by virtual ones. Active participation in environments
technological can play a crucial role in improving health and quality
of the lives of the elderly, promoting autonomy and creativity; creating new networks
social and avoiding isolation and social loneliness; enabling access to services
health, cultural, among others. The use of technology in an appropriate way is of
a lot of value, therefore older adults can also use the different
tools that offer these and thus be in contact with your friends and
family, thus facilitating greater individual and social interaction.
Gracia and Herrero (2008, p. 8) find that older adults who are users of
The internet maintains better physical health, lower presence of associated issues.
to mental health and show higher rates of integration and social participation
that non-users. Herrero, Meneses, Valente, and Rodríguez (2004, p. 35) affirm
that social activity on the Internet is not incompatible with in-person social activity,
but both contexts of participation appear to have similar effects.
On the other hand, according to various authors such as Bermejo, Pinazo, Lorente, Limón,
Fernández, (2010, p. 4), in Spain there are higher levels of autonomy and freedom.
among other significant aspects, in how many people are aging: more
slowly, with more personal abilities, and with better health; with a greater degree of
security and economic independence; with plenty of time to enjoy it; opting for the
active participation in facilities, institutions, and various organizations.
Therefore, older adults once they retire or reach a point where
they cannot perform their jobs, they will have a space where they can relax and for
their daily life will be more active, and they will feel valued within their group
family and social (Fernández, 2009, p. 20).
According to this research, there is a greater active aging in Spain.
which implies that in other countries these guidelines are followed, the same ones that will serve to
to have an important inclusion of older adults in all areas
those who serve a country. Other experts say that, indeed, Spain is
a country of old people; but of old people who have more free time, have better
health and more education, a higher purchasing power and, moreover, other concerns
according to new lifestyles (Giró, 2009, p. 33).
This situation can be generalized for many of the European countries and of the
different continents. However, to be more precise, it is advisable to point out that the
access and the possibilities are limited when economic conditions,
policies, social, that shape the development and quality of life of these people,
they do not accompany the process (Hernández Rodríguez, 2009, p. 23). According to reports
internationally, in Latin America they still remain as main concerns of the
older adults the lack of income security, the lack of free access to the
health services; participation, given that there is still little recognition, on the part of
from governments or civil society, towards the active involvement of older people
in society; marginalization, being a particularly vulnerable group to the
abuses and violence.
The quality of life perceived by the individual often depends on the position.
what it has in the cultural context and system of values in which it lives in relation to its
objectives, expectations, norms and concerns. Therefore, the quality of life
related to health should be valued from the physical, psychological and
Social. For example, physical activity is highly related to quality of life.
of the elderly, providing a space where the person enhances not only their
physical dimension, there are also its psychological and social dimension. Therefore, the
physical activity practice is a favorable measure to minimize the effects of the
changes resulting from the aging process (Spanish, 2014, p. 3).
Promoting active aging requires encouraging and compensating the
personal responsibility, the meeting and intergenerational solidarity, and creation
of favorable environments that make healthy decisions easy decisions.
For this, joint work between different agents is essential, where the
Educational factors carry significant weight (Sánchez, 1997, p. 6). Therefore, it is evident
that the actions aimed at promoting attitudes and behaviors that encourage the
intellectual inquietude, scientific curiosity, and cultural, deepening in the humanities
and in the understanding of the risks associated with certain habits, it will allow
adults/seniors being in better conditions to face the different
stages that life proposes to them.
However, adapting to aging is not easy because people
they have a misguided idea about it, in addition to certain fears that are created by
society, that is to say that upon reaching that age, they feel useless, that their rights do not
they are valued, and since they are elderly, what remains is to go to a center
gerontological in which they are isolated from their family and society,
decreasing in this way their interpersonal relationships and activities (Paz, 2011.
Page 13). Old age should also be viewed as a stage of development and maturity and this
it allows them to see life in a different way, they appreciate relativity and understand
What present has a past and a future that most individuals have to live?
Conclusions
Aging is one of the stages of life in which there is a certain predisposition to the
sadness, melancholy, and depression, these may be linked to the aspects
physical due to the loss of autonomy or social aspects, as a consequence
greater social isolation occurs, adding to the modifications in the
cognitive processes, further affecting the self-esteem and self-confidence of the adult
mayor. But it is important to mention that currently implementations are being carried out.
programs where older adults have recreational and cultural areas,
where they integrate into society in a favorable way and thus improve their
autonomy and therefore the confidence they have in themselves increases and so
they improve their interpersonal and family relationships.
Older adults must have proper development in all their
activities, both work-related, family, and cultural, for this it is essential to have the
support from the family, meaning making them feel that they can still be a contribution both for
themselves, as well as for others, an example of this is that in European countries the
older adults have more or are engaging in activities that are promoting the
active aging and therefore a better quality of life. These events
they should be emulated in all countries of the world, since aging with dignity is a
the right of all human beings and must endure over time.
,
References
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Campos, R., & Barzuna, L. (2004). Study of Aging. Medical Journal of
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Fernández, Y. (2009). Learning while enjoying: an experience of leisure for
adults/seniors at the University. Journal Mal Being and Subjectivity, 9(3),
(751-782).
Montero, I., & Bedmar, M. (2010). Leisure, free time, and volunteering in people
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Paz, J. (2011). The aging process, especially in older adults,
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