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The INDEPENDENT, April 5, 2007
Ever wonder what happens to the senses as aging works on them?
When does aging begin? Ag-
ing is highly individualized.
There is no single measure of
how “old” a person is. Aging
proceeds at different rates in
different people and at various
rates in various systems in the
same person. What are some
normal aging changes?
Vision: A common miscon-
ception is that all old people
suffer from bad vision. Studies
indicate this is not true. A sur-
prisingly high percentage of
older people have good-to-ade-
quate vision. But changes do
occur in the eye as you age,
usually starting in the late 30s
and early 40s. Typically, you
have to hold the paper farther
away to read it. Some of the
ability of the lens of the eye to
change its shape to accommo-
date distance is lost with age.
The size of the pupils grows
smaller with age, so less light is
let into the retina. Focusing be-
comes less accurate. Sensitivi-
ty to glare increases. Lateral
(side) vision decreases with
age. It is more difficult to make
adaptations to darkness.
The ability to see colors
changes with age. As you grow
older, the lens of the eyes yel-
low. Trouble can occur with the
blue end of the light spectrum.
An elderly person may have
trouble discriminating between
shades of blues and greens.
Red and yellow pills, for exam-
ple are easier for an elderly
person to see than blue or blue
green.
Hearing: When there is hear-
ing loss it is usually in the high
frequency range resulting in the
inability to hear high pitched
sounds. Older people will more
likely hear sounds spoken in a
low voice.
A common way to compen-
sate for hearing trouble is to in-
crease volume. But what is
comfortable for people with
hearing loss is very uncomfort-
able for others who have nor-
mal hearing. An auditory prob-
lem common to aging is the in-
ability to understand the mes-
sage because of a high level of
background noise. As age in-
creases, less and less back-
ground noise is required for
older people to experience this
inability to hear. For example,
for older people, television
tends to interfere with hearing
when they are trying to verbally
communicate.
The more serious effect of
hearing loss is withdrawal from
others. For some reason, it
seems eyeglasses are accept-
ed much more readily than
hearing aids.
Taste and Smell: There is
some loss of taste buds with
aging, though not much until
age 50 and not a very large
change until after 70. One
problem for older people is eat-
ing and preparing food alone.
This can be an emotional prob-
lem that affects diet more than
taste buds. Meals-on-Wheels
and other group programs that
create a setting for eating with
others for social interaction
have been developed to correct
this problem. Also, a limited
budget keeps some older peo-
ple from eating well at home.
Pain and Sense of Touch:
With age, the skin is not as sen-
sitive as in youth. The skin be-
comes less taut. There is loss
of
elasticity,
pigmentary
changes, and loss of tissue im-
mediately below the skin. Older
people need to be alert to the
fact they are not as sensitive to
heating pads or hot water bot-
tles as they once were and they
can harm the skin before realiz-
ing there is damage. There is
also increased difficulty in
maintaining normal tempera-
ture and the tendency to devel-
op bruises or skin sores.
Several things can help older
people keep healthier skin:
avoiding extreme exposure to
the sun, as sunlight tends to ac-
celerate skin aging; moisturizing
helps make the skin more com-
fortable; and exercising brings
more oxygen to the tissues.
Source: Lou Isbell, Missouri
University Extension.
Parents can help girls and young women get the exercise they need
While great strides have
been made in the advancement
of women’s sports, it is still an
uphill battle when it comes to
the basic fitness level of girls
and young women today. Un-
fortunately, when you study re-
cent statistics what begins in
childhood perpetuates in adult-
hood.
The amount of leisure-time
physical activity girls get drops
by more than 80 percent be-
tween elementary school and
late adolescence, according to
a study conducted at the Uni-
versity of Pittsburgh. Adoles-
cent girls also place less value
on participating in physical ac-
tivity than their male peers, and
only 25 percent of them partici-
pate in daily physical education
at school.
It’s not surprising, then, to
learn that women are at a dis-
proportionate risk for physical
inactivity, as compared to men,
and only 20 percent of women
engage in regular vigorous ac-
tivity. Trends that begin in child-
hood bear negative fruit in
adulthood.
Yet, fit children are happier
children. A survey of more than
7,600 U.S. children revealed a
“clear link between a student’s
self image and a healthy
lifestyle,” said Jodi Prohofsky,
Put the fun back into your workout!
vice president at CIGNA Behav-
ioral Health, which conducted
the Be Healthy…Be Fit survey.
Active children have better
self-esteem, are less prone to
eating disorders and poor body
image, have more confidence
and are better at developing
leadership skills. So why isn’t
more being done to encourage
girls and young women to stay
active?
The rise in women’s sports
has been a positive influence,
but not all girls are cut out for
competition. More needs to be
done to introduce them to sev-
eral fitness options. According
to researchers at the University
of South Carolina, Columbia, “If
girls are to have a chance to
become active for a lifetime,
more effort is needed to teach
about and provide experience
with a wide array of physical
activity possibilities.”
Parents are in a wonderful
position to help their daughters
discover the joys and rewards
of exercise! Here’s what par-
ents can do:
Get active with your girls! Go
for walks and bike rides. Shoot
some hoops. Take them to a
dance exercise class. Buy a
yoga video or DVD and do it to-
gether at home. Be creative
and encourage your daughters
to try it all.
Introduce them to a variety
of activities, including non-tradi-
tional options such as rock
climbing, martial arts or African
tribal dancing. Mix competitive
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and non-competitive endeavors
and see what motivates your
child.
Be a role model. If you aren’t
active yourself, don’t expect
your child to be active. A fit
lifestyle is one of the greatest
gifts you can give your children
– and yourself!
Lobby your schools and
school districts for more physi-
cal education classes. Encour-
age school administrators to be
active partners in educating
children about the lifelong ben-
efits of regular physical activity.
Turn off the television and
computer, or at least ration the
time spent in front of the
screen.
Help your child set a fitness
goal. Just be sure that it is pos-
itive, reasonable and activity fo-
cused. For example, they can
Please see page 14