Older Adults Living Healthier, Longer, More Active Lives [Podcast Series]
[:50] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Colin Milner
Founder and CEO of the International Council on Active Aging.
Colin advises organizations and governments globally, such as the National Institute on Aging, the World Economic Forum, and World Health Organization.
[1:13] Founding the International Council on Active Aging
“The population, of course, started to really move demographically and numbers wise towards an older population, but the reality was we weren’t responding to what their needs were.”
“I think when you are looking at the millions and millions of people out there, they deserve a response.”
[2:33] Identifying and meeting needs of older adults
“If you don’t have your health and wellness or health and wellbeing, life can be very difficult.”
My goal is very simple, and that is to help people function at a higher level for longer so that they can enjoy their life the way it was meant to be.”
[3:30] Improving quality of life for older adults
“The reality is, everything we do has an impact...that’s why we focus on a wellness model as opposed to just a fitness model.”
“Be engaged in as many different areas of life as you can and your health will follow.”
[5:26] Active aging and mental and physical health
“Active aging...is being engaged in life. You’re actively involved in life. Or, you’re inactively involved in life.”
“And that is everything from your workplace to challenging your mind to managing your mental health.”
[6:27] Isolation among older adults
“The isolation factor is huge.”
“In today’s world, thankfully, there are many different kinds of technologies that can help minimize that.”
[8:14] Inclusive fitness for older adults
“I think the first thing comes down to committing to and embracing all individuals.”
“There is no reason we shouldn’t be investing in our health and well-being to get ourselves healthy.”
[10:44] Changes in the health & fitness industry in serving older adults
“Many of the clubs have changed in regards to design, layouts, size, equipment, technology...the problem is the segmentation of the clubs is still relatively close to what it was.”
“Maybe we are about 23% off of who should be coming into the clubs. So imagine if you could almost double the number of participants just by having a focus on what their needs are...I need to remain healthy, I need to function, I need to keep my social engagement up, I need to participate in activities that bring me joy.”
[13:26] Health & fitness centers creating community among older adults
“As you get older, that becomes even more important...you really have a key group of very close friends that really brings meaning to your life.”
“The clubs have an opportunity to have clubs within the clubs that don’t cost them anything to run....walking clubs, sewing clubs, movie clubs, whatever it may be, but it is organized by their own members, but it is situated out of the club.”
[15:33] Disposable income of older adults to spend on fitness services
“If you are somebody that is strictly looking at the economics, there is no question that you would look at the older population because, since twenty years ago when I started, the older population had 50% of the disposable income. Today they have over 75% of the disposable income.”
“The older population now spends more on products and services to help them age well than on prescription drugs or pharmaceuticals to manage chronic diseases.”
[18:17] Older adults assessing risk with COVID-19
“I think the first thing to understand is no matter what you do, there is some risk...The issue is how to minimize that risk to almost nothing”
“Think about where you are going to go and what you are going to do ahead of time.”
[22:51] Countering ageism during COVID-19
“Fear heightens ageism, and that is probably the greatest example of ageism out there. So the only way you can counteract that is not to accept that.”
“I think what we need to realize is that everybody matters and that, as a society, for us to be holistic and not have warfare amongst the ages, we need to embrace everyone. And everyone has value, no matter how old you are.”
[26:30] New developments in research on aging
“One of the things that has really been interesting for me over the last couple years has been the shift where we have moved the definition of healthy aging...the ability to maintain our functional abilities versus the absence of disease.”
“That, and of course there is a huge focus on cognitive abilities...If you can delay the onset of [Alzheimers’] by a year or two or three, that is a significant amount of time for a longer period of quality of life versus it being diminished.”
[28:18] Adopting physical activity habits for a lifetime
“I think if we can make movement fun and we build it in that it becomes habit from a very, very young age.”
“The ability to find a fun activity that you want to pursue throughout your life.”
