Isolation and health impairments have emerged as a serious issue among the aging population. While this is largely driven by lack of social interaction and sedentary lifestyle, this issue can be tackled by a number of feasible steps.
Loneliness and problems with health stem from a variety of sources, with social contact deficiency standing out as a major driver. In the past, individuals lived in extended families, but nowadays it is common for younger generation to move away from their parents for different purposes such as education, work or starting a new family. As a result, elderly people live alone and feel lonely. Another factor comes into play is the sedentary lifestyle. As many old people retire, they mostly have nothing to be engaged with. They spend most of their time watching TV. Consequently, this lifestyle shapes various health issues like obesity, back or neck pain.
One promising solution lies in establishment of awareness raising campaigns about the value of older generation for people’s life. Creating educational videos or podcasts about spending more time with elderly instead of wasting it to social media apps and promote them in the same way as advertisements in social media apps, so they reach target audience. Subsequently, people come to realization about the significance of social bonds and devoting some time for older people prevent them suffer from being alone. Promoting physically active lifestyle for retirees can also go a long way to alleviate the problem. Neighborhood communities are in better position to provide elderly with various clubs, sport trainings and sessions so they can stay active physically. In some countries, there are special sections in public gyms for old individuals to train and be part of community.
To sum up, suffering from being alone and certain health problems remain as a pressing issue especially for older generation. Only when individuals are well-informed about value of family connections and elders are provided by after retirement programs will the issue be remedied.
