****

**AoA Update**-See also:**BackIssues**

**Volume 3 Issue 4 - Administration on Aging - May 1998**

****

#### Older Americans Month 1998 Theme is: Living Longer, Growing Strongerin AmericaA Message from the Assistant Secretary for Aging:.....Readying America for the Longevity Revolution**Thelma Dishes Out More Than Ice Cream****Walking Her Way Into the Next Century**Fitness Facts for Older AmericansAoA Staff Honored Masthead

****

### Older Americans Month 1998 Theme is: Living Longer, Growing Stronger inAmerica
And many Americans are doing just that. Their hallmark is staying involved with theircareers, families and communities, and mastery over their own lives. It is not easy tosummarize decades of living, but we want to highlight several older Americans whosymbolize millions of seniors who continue to make life better for all of us. In April,Assistant Secretary for Aging Jeanette Takamura met with Milton Garland who, at102, was honored as this year’s Oldest Worker in America by Green Thumb (April 1998, *AoA Update*). Her recollectionsare recounted here:

"Mr.Garland truly is an inspiration to all of us, and has the intellectualcapacity of a Buckminster Fuller, the world renowned architect, engineer, inventor. HeLOVES his work. His responsibilities now include teaching service personnel and salesapplication engineers about refrigeration principles and the Frick Company’s productsin Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. One of his concerns related to coming to Washington toreceive the Prime Time Award from Green Thumb was that he had to be back to teach hisclasses on Friday. He is also Frick's patent coordinator. Recently, he authored a book onrefrigeration thermodynamics! 

He has NO plans to retire because he says he still has a lot to learn and, besides, heis having too much fun. During questions and answers at the Press Club, Milt shared someof his thoughts about life. He said: 1) don't worry; every problem has an answer; you justhave to look for it; 2) ask a lot of questions and be open to the answers; 3) do thingscorrectly; 4) keep working at the career you choose, learn what you need to in order toachieve mastery, and when you become an expert, your job will be a joy; and 5) you can'tdo anything alone, so be open to the help of others. 

He and his second wife, Alice, appear to walk everywhere hand in hand. Their affectionfor each other is evident. He says that he couldn't do it without her. Milt and Alice havebeen married for three decades. I cannot tell you how heartwarming it was to spend timewith Milt and Alice. I came away truly inspired by this individual who represents themiracle of longevity." 
**Go Back to Contents Menu**A Message from the Assistant Secretary for Aging:Readying America for the Longevity Revolution*
We are on the brink of a revolution--one unique in the whole of human history, one thatpresents both challenges and opportunities. How we meet these challenges and utilize theseopportunities as individuals and as a nation will determine whether we win or lose thiscoming longevity revolution. To succeed, we must work together to prepare America forlongevity and fashion solutions to issues, such as the need to create personal savings andprovide long-term care insurance coverage, that impact on present and futuregenerations’ ability to remain as self-sufficient as possible.

Since 1965, the Older Americans Act (OAA) has provided authorization for the spectrumof services and programs which enable millions of elders to maintain their dignity; tolive as independently as possible; to be free from fear of abuse, neglect andexploitation; to avoid the pain of hunger, social isolation and loneliness; to be assistedand cared for in their own homes, if they are vulnerable and frail; and to have theirfamily caregivers receive support.

The Administration on Aging (AoA) provides grants to states, communities and tribalorganizations for infrastructure development and to build comprehensive and coordinatedservice delivery systems. OAA funds provide critical services such as transportation andnutrition, and are used for advocacy, coordination and other activities which help to meetthe needs and protect the rights of older adults. State and Area Agencies on Agingadminister OAA programs, as well as Medicaid, Social Services Block Grant, Housing andUrban Development, and state general revenue programs. 
**The Gift of Longevity

As a group, Americans live in a nation blessed with the gift of longevity, living anaverage of 76 years (72 years for men, 79 years for women). Today, some 40 millionAmericans are 60 and older, with centenarians the fastest growing segment of thepopulation. From 1900 to 2010, there will be a 47 percent increase in the number ofAmericans age 55 to 64 years. Since the average American can claim more living parentsthan children, Census Bureau indications are not surprising that, four-generation Americanfamilies soon will be the norm. In less than 13 years, 76 million baby boomers, bornbetween 1946 and 1964, will begin to join the ranks of older Americans. Equivalent innumber to one-third of the current U.S. population, the boomers currently comprise 44percent of the nation's households, 60 percent of which are headed by married couples.According to the Census Bureau, one of every nine baby boomers will survive to at leastage 90.

Provided that Americans have adequate retirement incomes to sustain themselves overlengthy lifespans; access to quality, affordable health care; places to live; andtransportation options which accommodate some possible physical and mobility decline, theywill have the option of "active aging" and the chance to engage in stimulating,contributory careers, volunteer work and avocations.

The President's strong support for Social Security and Medicare, as well as theAdministration's recent calls to preserve, strengthen and protect these critical programs,are significant steps in addressing the challenges and capitalizing on the opportunitiesof a longevous society. In addition, the Administration's ongoing efforts to combat fraud,waste and abuse in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, play critical roles in helping toprepare our nation for the 21st century.

I am very pleased that AoA and our national aging network have had an important role toplay in Operation Restore Trust, the successful anti-fraud demonstration project launchedby President Clinton in 1995. Together with the Health Care Financing Administration, theDepartment of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General and theDepartment of Justice, we have worked hard over the last three years to reach out tothousands of older persons by recruiting and training local ombudsmen, aging serviceproviders, volunteers and retired professionals to identify and report waste, fraud andabuse in their own states and communities.
**A Time for Partnerships

We are pleased that there is so much growing interest in addressing the opportunitiesand challenges of an aging America. I believe that the only way we can succeed in meetingthese challenges and taking advantage of these opportunities is to build partnerships, andto collect and share as much information as possible to be prepared for what lies ahead.

While there is growing consensus that America must have a financially literatepopulation, if the nation is to be ready for longevity, the 1997 Retirement ConfidenceSurvey found that "dismal [retirement] planning crosses age and gender." It isbecause such "dismal" retirement planning occurs that AoA's pension benefitscounseling program is so important. It is also the reason that the public and privatesectors must present as many opportunities for Americans of all ages to gain financialliteracy and to understand their long-term income requirements. For example, Americansshould know that 56-year-olds retiring today with retirement incomes of $3,000 per monthwill find the purchasing power of their monthly retirement income to equal $930 when theyare 80 years old, $571 when they are 90, and $351 at age 100. 

At least one study found that boomers' greatest financial concern is the inadequacy oftheir retirement resources. Fortunately, many baby boomers are taking responsibility fortheir financial futures and are trying to save for their retirement. Unfortunately, astudy by Stanford University economist Douglas Bernheim concluded that American families,including baby boomers, are saving at about one-third the essential rate, assuming thatretirement at age 65, with an adequate retirement cushion, is a goal. That is, Americansare saving only about 38 cents out of what should be a whole retirement dollar.

Although baby boomers are expected to rely on Social Security in the same proportionsas their parents, only half of the boomers are covered by employer-sponsored pensions.Because they will tend to have defined contribution plans instead of defined benefitplans, boomers may be at greater risk, unless they have other investments and otherassets. Moreover, 7 out of 10 of all baby boomer women are expected to outlive theirhusbands and spend some 15 years alone as widows, in many instances, on fixed incomes thatlose purchasing power over time.

A significant number of boomers face economic risk and deprivation in retirementbecause of a poor history of earnings, sporadic employment, discrimination, and inadequateor poor education. To help baby boomers be financially prepared for their own potentiallongevity, programs such as the pension benefit counseling program can enable the agingnetwork to more effectively partner with and facilitate appropriate public and privatesector collaboration to ensure that all Americans are able to proactively determine theirretirement needs; understand their pension or profit sharing plans; and understand savingsplans and other options which may be available to them. 

The Retirement Confidence Survey findings suggest that such concerted efforts would beproductive because most Americans have started to save for their retirement and retirementeducation campaigns can have a real impact on individual saving behaviors. 

Unlike any generationbefore them, boomers must not only be prepared for their own older years, they must beprepared to contend effectively as members of the "sandwich generation"--ageneration caught between the demands presented by their children's college tuition, theneed to help their children with grandchild care and the costs of daily living, therequirements which arise at work, and elder care giving. It is no wonder that boomers havealso been dubbed the "worried generation."
**The Long View on Long-Term Care

While disability rates have fallen steadily since the early 1980's, the sheer number ofboomers means that the need for long-term care assistance will not diminish. Since thesetrends are expected to continue and to become more dramatic in the 21st century, it isimportant to ready all Americans by familiarizing them with caregiving techniques as wellas the spectrum of supportive resources in communities across the country. Many of theseservices can be accessed via the Eldercare Locator, the national toll free information andassistance service funded by AoA in partnership with the National Association of AreaAgencies on Aging in collaboration with the National Association of State Units on Aging.

The cost of long-term care — ranging from home care to institutional care, if suchbecomes an eventuality, has tremendous economic ramifications for American families andfor the nation in general. Long-term care costs can and do deplete, or significantlydiminish, the financial resources of many older adults, their spouses and their children. 

A nation ready for longevity would ensure that all Americans have access to reliable,user-friendly information about the potential and limitations of various long-term carefinancing options, including Medicaid and private insurance. Preparedness for longevitywould also include: 
- giving broad visibility to the importance of healthy lifestyles, health promotion, and      disease prevention; 
- creating understanding in the general populace about the health care and long-term care      service system and how best to access the latter, including home and community-based      services such as those provided by the OAA; 
- ensuring that Americans know about the rights of health and long-term care consumers, as      proposed by the President in his Consumer Bill of Rights and as safeguarded by such      programs as the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program established under the OAA; specifically,      ensuring that consumers understand the importance of satisfactory discharge planning, long      in advance of their departure from a health care facility; 
- creating a universal understanding of caregiving challenges, opportunities, and      resources; coordinated community planning for the development and use of home and      community-based long-term care alternatives, including those which take strategic,      cost-conscious advantage of technology; and
- allowing ample opportunities for experimentation and testing of best practices such as      those made possible under Title IV of the OAA. Title IV research, training and      demonstration activities have been the catalyst for many successful programs for seniors,      such as the home-delivered meals program, long-term care ombudsman program, and pension      counseling projects across the nation.

In the final analysis, an America ready for longevity would be an America with policiesand programs that acknowledge both the universal and unique needs of the older Americanpopulation, i.e. it is a nation that recognizes that each generation of older adults hasdistinct, distinguishing characteristics, perspectives and value orientations. 

A nation ready for longevity has recognized that as we age, we grow more heterogeneous.We acquire and develop our own personal interests, follow our own career pathways, live indifferent communities, and engage in a variety of friendship and professional networks. Itis an America in which transportation systems, urban planning and housing, the financialindustries, the travel and hospitality industries, mechanisms for consumer protection, thefood service industries, public safety systems, lower and higher education, informationsystems, and other structures and institutions which are part of the fabric of every- daylife are designed and operate in a manner which embraces longevity as a social reality andaccommodates those older persons who enjoy "active aging" as well as those whomay be frail or vulnerable. An America ready for longevity also is one where employersreadily accept workers in a variety of jobs without evidence of ageism. I believe that byworking together, we can help prepare America for longevity. 

The article on exercise in this issue of the *Update*deals with ways that olderAmericans can improve or maintain their health and, thus, a critical part of theirindependence. We are focusing on this because health care, particularly as it relates tolong-term care, is one of the most serious and costly challenges facing us as individualsand as a nation. If we can further reduce disability among older persons by arming themwith knowledge regarding nutrition and exercise and get them to act upon that knowledge,we will further reduce the incidence of debilitating diseases and conditions includingheart disease, stroke, diabetes, osteoporosis, cancer, and arthritis. For most Americans,the later years need not be ones of dependence, and I urge you to share this informationwith your colleagues and with older persons, so that we can spread the word and enableolder Americans to live their later years to their fullest.
***Jeanette C. Takamura**
This article is based on testimony given by the Assistant Secretary on Aging before theSenate Special Committee on Aging Field Hearing: "Preparingfor Retirement of the Baby Boomers" on February 18, 1998 in Baton Rouge,Louisiana.
**Go Back to Contents MenuThelma Dishes Out More Than Ice Cream
At 83, Thelma Feigheryhas a schedule that would put most people half her age to shame. She owns and operates *Thelma’s--*a combination general store, ice cream parlor, and collectibles shop, which featuresThelma caps and tee shirts. Thelma works from 9 in the morning to 10 at night, seven daysa week. She makes all her own ice cream from recipes she has created. In the hot days ofsummer, people from all over northern Virginia come to sample her hand-dipped cones at thelittle store in Great Falls. 

A graduate of George Washington University in Washington, D.C., Mrs. Feighery has beena trail blazer in many ways. She earned a degree in psychology and sociology in 1938, andearned a master’s degree in social work in 1940--a time when few women attendedcollege. She married in 1942, had two children, and opened the store in 1950. She and herhusband bought the house next door so that she also could care for her daughter who wasborn with cerebral palsy. Mrs. Feighery did all this when the stay-at-home-mom was thenorm, not the exception, and few women owned and operated businesses. Thelma has weatheredmany losses and hardships and says that her deep faith in God has kept her going. She losther only daughter who died when she was 23 and has been a widow for the past decade.

Running the general store has not been easy, especially in the wake of competition fromthe many shopping centers that have sprung up nearby. Nevertheless, she has managed tostay in business, and operates the only "country" store left in the area. Thelmais living proof of what the Swedish/American study (reported in the February-March issueof the *Update*) found--that sheer feistiness, determination, and a sense of masteryover one’s environment are the hallmarks of longevity. So, too, are involvement withand empathy for others.

Over the years, Thelma has earned a devoted following among both young and old--notonly because of her ice cream, but because she takes time out to listen to the problems ofothers. Her recent birthday celebration, held in front of the store, was attended by herdevoted basset hound, Susie, and 125 of her closest friends and admirers, some of whomremember coming to the store when it first opened 48 years ago.
**Go Back to Contents MenuWalking Her Way Into the Next Century
Ruth McNamara, 60, of Midland, Michigan has only 612 miles to go beforeshe will have walked the width of America. Thanks to positive lifestyle changes andmedical advances, increasing numbers of older Americans are looking forward to longer,fuller, and healthier lives. Every day is an opportunity to make new plans, set new goals,and continue to do the things they enjoy.

The following article on fitness highlights the many benefits that older Americans canreap from exercising on a regular basis.
**Go Back to Contents MenuFitness Facts for Older Americans*Under    Title III-F, Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Services, of the Older Americans Act,    the Administration on Aging allocates funds for health promotion and disease prevention    activities, including physical fitness. State and Area Agencies on Aging have used Title    III-F funds for special health promotion needs and, in many cases, have leveraged    considerable local money to carry out special programs that meet the unique needs of older    people in their communities. Programs funded under Title III-F are targeted to medically    underserved areas of each state where large numbers of elderly with the greatest economic    need for such services reside. While these activities are helping tens of thousands of    older Americans, the majority of older persons are not engaging in any regular exercise    activities. Lack of accessible programs and long-held beliefs that exercise is the purview    of the young and down-right dangerous for the elderly still persist.
The information in    the following article discusses the benefits of exercise for older people with suggestions    about ways to get started on an individual basis as well as ways to access formal fitness    programs. Members of the aging network should share this information with older persons    and work with the organizations and groups suggested in the section entitled    "Starting an Exercise Program" to offer free or low-cost programs designed for    the elderly, if they are not already doing so. In so doing we may be able to help more    older persons to live longer and grow stronger and thus remain independent and in the    homes and communities where they want to be.
During the lifetimes of older Americans, there have been revolutionary changes in howwe live and work. More importantly, there has been a revolution in what we know aboutliving long and living well. Today, scientific knowledge regarding exercise and otherareas of health is being added to and revised at an unprecedented rate. 

The foremost finding when it comes to fitness and the elderly is that much of thefrailty and decline once ascribed to aging is often the result of years of inactivity.Nevertheless, sedentary lifestyles have been hastened by radical changes in the ways welive and work over the past six decades. Today, labor-saving devices in the workplace andat home keep us from getting the exercise we once did in the normal course of a day, andthe number of Americans suffering from obesity in all age groups is at an all-time high.What is more, few adult Americans engage in a program of physical exercise.

Yet results from a study, published in the February 11, 1998 issue of the *Journal ofthe American**Medical Association**(JAMA),* show that even when genetic disorders and other risk factors are considered, people whoexercise regularly are much less likely to die prematurely than their sedentarycounterparts. Overall, those who vigorously walked or jogged for 30 minutes six or moretimes a month, considered "conditioning exercisers," had a 43 percent lower riskof death than sedentary people. Even those who were occasionally active had a 29 percentreduced risk of dying compared to more sedentary people, say Dr. Urho M. Kujala, an expertin sports and exercise medicine at the University of Helsinki in Finland, who conductedthe study using 8,000 sets of twins. 
Kujala and his colleagues observed similar risk reductions when they lookedspecifically at individual twin pairs in which only one twin was active. This suggeststhat risk factors that run in families may be overcome in part by exercising, they said.The benefits of exercise also remained when the researchers took into account other riskfactors for early death, such as smoking and high blood pressure.
**Boning Up on the Latest Facts

"Take It Easy You're Not as Young as You Used to Be" is not so sage advice.Yet, the majority of middle-aged and older Americans adhere to this dictate. Surveys showthat only 30 percent of Americans aged 45 to 64 exercise regularly, while 32 percent ofadults 65 and older follow a regular plan of exercise. 

Yet the human body repairs itself and performs more efficiently with regular exercise.This is particularly true for the musculo-skeletal system and thecardio-vascular-pulmonary system, made up of our lungs, heart, and the miles of veins,arteries and capillaries that traverse our bodies. With exercise, bones and joints rebuildand repair themselves far more efficiently. Without exercise, bones tend to become thinand porous--a condition known as osteoporosis; ligaments and tendons shorten, makingstretching movements painful and more difficult; and even cartilage tends to repair andrebuild itself less efficiently. When we do not exercise, fat displaces muscle, musclesbecome smaller and weaker--a process known as atrophy, and we gain weight more easilybecause even at rest muscle burns more calories than does fat.

Added weight puts added stress on our heart and lungs, and on weight bearing joints,making it more difficult to climb stairs, get out of a chair, and even to walk andmaintain our balance. Weak muscles cannot protect the joints or provide strength andbalance so that we are more prone to falls--a major cause of institutionalization amongolder people. Frail bones and weak muscles limit our ability to care for ourselves, ourhomes, and to enjoy the later years--years that can and should be a time of productivityand enjoyment.

When you exercise, you reduce fat tissue, while building muscle and bone. Muscle isheavier than fat but takes up half the space, so you can actually reduce your bodymeasurements without losing weight. Strong muscles help to protect your joints and bones,improve posture and balance, increase mobility, and reduce the likelihood of accidents.
**"An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth a Pound of Cure" 

When it comes to health and fitness this is good advice, but being "out ofshape" does not mean that older people cannot "get in shape" and this istrue for people in their 60's as well as those in their 90's. Research has found that whenit comes to exercise you need a combination of three types--weight training for strength;aerobic exercise for strength and endurance; and calisthenics (stretching, bending, andtwisting exercises) for flexibility.

Studies have found that violent physical exertion is no more useful in gaining andmaintaining fitness than is moderate exercise, and can result in an increased risk ofinjury or heart attacks for those not in prime physical condition.
**Before beginning an exercise program, older people should check with their health careprovider and start slowly to avoid overexertion and accidents.

Walking and other aerobic exercises done at a pace which makes you breathe a littleharder and work up a mild sweat for a half hour to one hour three days a week will keepyour heart, lungs, and vascular system in good working order, strengthen your bones andmuscles, and improve balance.

Exercise intensity for aerobic conditioning is measured by heart rate. A good activitylevel is 70 percent of your maximum heart rate, determined by subtracting your age from220. People who have not been exercising should begin using 60 percent of their maximumheartbeat as the target heart rate and can ultimately move up to 80 percent, when theyhave reached their maximum fitness level. 

Older people, in particular, should not attempt a strenuous workout during hot, humidweather or for at least two hours after eating. Warning signs of overexertion include aninability to talk, dizziness or disorientation, nausea, or pains in your chest, upperback, left shoulder or arm. If you have any of these symptoms check with your health careprovider as soon as possible. To avoid excess strain on the heart and injury, warm up forfive minutes before working out, and cool down after exercises. Never abruptly stopexercising, since the sudden stop in motion can cause lightheadedness or muscle cramping. 

Walking is a good exercise because it can be done at a pace that you can easily set foryourself, it takes no equipment other than walking shoes, and it can be done at virtuallyany time, and on your own. Walking strengthens muscles in the lower body, helps to buildnew joint bone and tissue, and helps to ward off osteoporosis. Since walking basicallyworks the lower half of the body, other aerobic exercises as well as exercises thatincrease flexibility should be included. Other good aerobic exercises for weight bearingjoints included dancing, tennis, racquetball, basketball, and biking.

Aerobic exercise strengthens the heart and helps to maintain lung capacity. It alsoslows or prevents the buildup of cholesterol plaque in the veins and arteries which leadsto arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, by keeping them flexible, thus reducinghigh blood pressure and the likelihood of heart disease and strokes.
When it comes to preventing strokes it may be a rule of the more exercise the better,according to the ongoing Northern Manhattan Stroke Study, headed by neurologist Dr. RalphSacco of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. As a part of thestudy, questionnaires were given to 369 people who had ischemic strokes (caused by achoked blood supply to the brain) and 678 healthy people. The patients were all examinedby neurologists, given physicals and asked about their levels of physical activity in theprior two weeks. 

The researchers concluded that regular exercise (ranging from household chores tostrenuous workouts) was associated with a 63 percent lower risk of stroke. And the morehours spent exercising, the better. "It may not be the intensity of the activity butthe duration," said Sacco, whose findings appear in the February 1998 journal, *Stroke*.
Exercise alsoimproves the functioning of the liver, pancreas and other vital organs. It can help tocontrol diabetes mellitus since it aids in the metabolism of sucrose. The Physicians’Health Study, an ongoing research project at Harvard University of over 22,000 doctors,found that those with diabetes who exercised strenuously at least once a week had 50percent fewer heart attacks than their sedentary counterparts. What is more, exercisehelps to spur the production of human growth hormone which otherwise ceases to be producedafter about age fifty. Human growth hormone helps to maintain the size and strength ofmuscles which diminish as we age.

If you have arthritis or other joint or motion impeding conditions, swimming is anexcellent aerobic exercise. It offers many of the benefits of other aerobic exerciseswithout putting stress on joints.

A recent study, funded by the National Institute on Aging, suggests that people withosteoarthritis of the knee who exercise have less pain, reduced disability, and improvedphysical performance. The Fitness Arthritis and Seniors Trial results compared improvementmeasurements in people who participated in moderate aerobic or resistance exercise withthose in a health education program. The results showed a modest, but consistent,improvement in pain relief, disability, and physical performance for those who exercisedcompared to those in the health education program who did not exercise.
**If You Don’t Use It, You Will Lose It

Weight training is as essential to good physical health in the later years as aerobicexercise. It strengthens muscles and bones, and there are indications that it is helpfulin lowering cholesterol levels. Weight training also increases the strength of ligamentsand tendons so that less stress is placed on your joints.

Not long ago, it was "accepted knowledge" that older people could notincrease their muscle strength or muscle mass. Now, happily, this myth has been dispelled.In 1989, researchers from Tufts and Harvard Universities undertook a study of residents atBoston's Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for the Aged. These residents had multiplefunctional problems, chronic conditions and were very sedentary. 

At the beginning of the project, participants, whose average age was 90, were tested todetermine the heaviest weights they could lift with their legs. Following this initialtest, they began a program of weight training three days a week, working with weights thatwere 80 percent of the maximum they could lift. After two weeks, they were retested andthe weights were increased. At the end of six weeks, these frail older people hadincreased their muscle strength, on average, by 180 percent, and none of the participantshad reached a plateau. As a result of their increased muscle strength, their averagewalking speed increased 48 percent, two participants no longer needed canes, and oneparticipant was able to rise from a chair without help. 

The participants resumed their sedentary lifestyles at the end of the program. Theresearchers then retested them, and found a 32 percent loss in maximum strength after onlyfour weeks of detraining. The moral of this story is "If you don't use it, you'lllose it," but the happy ending is that you can regain fitness and strength at almostany age. 

In the past, people with high blood pressure, heart diseases and conditions, such asarthritis, were warned to avoid using weights, but the Tufts and Harvard study found thatweight training had no adverse effect on blood pressure or heart function and advise thatstrengthening muscles, tendons, and ligaments actually helps to ease pressure on thejoints. Weight training can be used to increase muscle strength and muscle endurance. 

A program ofcalisthenics, isometric and stretching exercises combined with dance will enable you todevelop muscle strength and endurance as well as flexibility and cardio-pulmonary fitness.Joining a class or using videos made by qualified instructors is a good way to get inshape and avoid mishaps. Many dance classes especially those in ballet, modern, andaerobic dance include calisthenics, isometric, and stretching exercises as part of theroutine.

Staying physically fit can give older persons a body that performs and looks like thoseyears younger than their chronological age. At the VA Medical Center in Salt Lake CityUtah, physically fit men in their mid-50’s were compared to inactive men in theirmid-20’s. 

The results were astounding. The active older men had lower resting heart rates--64beats per minute versus 85 beats per minute for the younger men, higher oxygen uptakeduring maximum exercise, and slower heart beats in the first minute after exercise thanthe men in their 20's who did not keep fit. What is more, the older men weighed an averageof 166 pounds compared to 192 pounds for the younger sedentary men.
**Starting an Exercise Program

If no classes are available in your area and you want to start an exercise program onyour own, be sure to obtain the latest publications and/or videos available. Somecalisthenics and isometric exercises recommended a decade or two ago are no longerconsidered safe, so it is important to have current information. You can get publicationsand videos on exercise through your library.

Many agencies and organizations including the YM and YWCAs, junior colleges anduniversities, senior and community centers, adult and continuing education, and healthclubs and spa's offer classes in exercise, dance, and weight training that provideinstruction that will enable you to gain the maximum result and avoid injuries andmishaps. 

If you cannot locate an exercise program that you think is right for you, contact yourArea Agency on Aging (AAA) listed in the "Government" section of your telelphonedirectory under "aging" or "elder" services, or call theAdministration on Aging’s Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1113 for the name and phonenumber of the AAA serving your area.
**Get Moving and Discover a New, Revitalized You

If you are retired you now may have the time it takes to get in shape. If you are not,make the time. Remember weight training should be done three times a week for a minimum of20 minutes under a trained instructor, while bending and stretching exercises should bedone every day for about 10 minutes, and aerobic exercise for 30 to 60 minutes three timesa week. 
**Go Back to Contents MenuAoA Staff Honored 
Ms. Yi-HsinYan of AoA’s headquarters’ IRM divisionrecently received a departmental award for her work in Electronic Grants Management. Shewas honored, "For Exemplary Performance in Facilitating the Timely and PreciseIntegration of Administration on Aging Grants Data into the HHS Tracking andAccountability in Grants System."
Two Region VIII staff members--Elizabeth Clinton and Jo Anne Pegues--have receivedawards for their community service. Ms. Pegues was presented with the CommunityServiceAward at the 50th Anniversary Convention of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. WesternRegional meeting which was attended by some 300 people. The award is given to persons whohave contributed unfalteringly to community development and activities. 

Elizabeth Clinton was honored by the American Red Cross with a Special Citation forExceptional Volunteer Service. Ms. Clinton has been a volunteer with the Red Cross since1992, as an after-hours disaster assistance volunteer and an emergency shelter manager.She now serves on the Denver Branch Advisory Council and the Mile High Chapter DisasterCommittee. Ms. Clinton says that "as a member of these committees I have theopportunity to increase awareness regarding the special needs of the elderly who areaffected by disaster, and I, on several occasions, have connected staff with the rightpeople at the State and Area Agency on Aging."
Go Back to Contents Menu
****

AoA Update

**Jeanette C. Takamura**Assistant Secretary for Aging

**Harry Posman**Director, Executive Secretariat

**June B. Faris**Editor

**AoA Update**Administration on AgingU.S. Department of Health & Human ServicesWashington, DC 20201(202) 619-0724TDD: (202) 401-7575 FAX: (202) 260-1012E-mail: [email protected]Internet Web Site: http://www.aoa.dhhs.gov

****
Go Back to Contents Menu****************************