Podium (Feb 2021)
Physical activity in the elderly with chronic noncommunicable diseases/La actividad física en el adulto mayor con enfermedades crónicas no transmisibles
Abstract
As the population ages, the prevalence of chronic and disabling diseases increases. Cuba is one of the oldest countries in Latin America; it is expected to be one of the oldest in the world by 2050. The cost of diseases and their impact on functional status are higher in older patients than in younger people. The high prevalence of multiple no communicable diseases in older adults is a major challenge for health care providers. The physical activity of elderlies as a healthy lifestyle is of great importance in society, since the practice of exercise and sport promotes the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of no communicable diseases. The objective of this research is to increase the knowledge on the repercussion of aging changes in the functionality of elderly, which allows influencing their wellbeing through physical activity. A bibliographic review was carried out by means of electronic searches and in libraries of national and foreign medical journals indexed in SciELO, Imbiomed and Pubmed over a 10-year period in Spanish and English. Scientific articles and textbooks with information related to population aging, physical activity, physical activity and non-communicable diseases were consulted, and it can be concluded that therapeutic physical activity is a health professional act, which allows the individual to reach the highest possible functional capacity, achieving maximum autonomy, in order to enable greater integration into society.
