The middle aged adults are prone to various health problems most of which are related to their lifestyles. Some of the most common health problems include hypertension, diabetes and coronary heart diseases. Even when the number of middle aged adults suffering from these health problems, studies has shown that regular physical activity reduces the chances of one suffering from them ( Lee & Ory 2013). According to the Center for Disease Control, hypertension accounts for 22% of the total number of middle aged persons with chronic illnesses, diabetes stands at 18% and coronary heart disease is at 11%. This therefore shows that the figures are quite high and if proper measures are not taken the problem may get out of control.
As a practicing nurse, I would want these trends to reverse for the good of our society. There are various measures that I would take in order to promote inclusion of physical activities and exercise into the lives of people. First, I would advise them to try and engage in physical activity at least for one hour every day. I will advice them to choose the physical activities that they enjoy doing and perform them routinely. They will have to set achievable goals that they will work with. I will seek to educate them on the benefits that they will achieve and always encourage them to lead a healthy lifestyle.
The kind of activities that I would recommend to them include daily thirty minutes walks in most preferably in the evenings, doing the stairs instead of elevators, jogging and visiting the gym over the weekends. Meditation and yoga is one other activity that I would like them to take just before bed time as it reduces tension and frees their minds from the day’s challenges. I know that this may not be easy on most of my clients but I will seek to educate them on the benefits of these activities and offer to join them every once in a while just to show them that it is not hard to engage both mind, body and soul.
Reference
Lee, W. C. & Ory, M. G. The Engagement in Physical Activity for Middle-Aged and Older Adults with Multiple Chronic Conditions: Findings from a Community Health Assessment. Journal of Aging Research. Vol. 2013(2013), Article ID 152868. http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jar/2013/152868/
