A Atividade Física e o Envelhecimento

Abstract

O envelhecimento é um processo inevitável do percurso de vida de um ser humano, que contribui para a deterioração da saúde e aumenta a vulnerabilidade à morte. Com o aumento da idade média da população, aumenta também o número de idosos que estão em risco de desenvolver doenças crónicas e estados de debilidade relacionados com o envelhecimento. A atividade física está fortemente relacionada com uma morbilidade e mortalidade mais baixas e, cada vez mais, se destaca o seu potencial benefício no envelhecimento e na longevidade.Contudo, a maior parte da população mundial é fisicamente inativa. De forma a combater este problema desenvolveram-se recomendações nacionais e internacionais para a atividade física. O objetivo deste trabalho é descrever o impacto da atividade física no envelhecimento e na longevidade, rever as várias recomendações existentes na área da atividade física, e propor intervenções eficazes para diminuir os níveis de sedentarismo na população, e que contribuam para aumentar a qualidade e esperança de vida humana.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Aging is an inevitable process in the life course of a human being. It contributes to health deterioration and increases vulnerability to death. With the average population age increasing, proportionally there is an increase in the number of older adults who are at risk of developing chronic diseases and health conditions related to aging.Physical activity is strongly related to lower morbidity and mortality, and increasingly evidence highlights its beneficial potential in aging and longevity.However, the majority of the world population is physically inactive. In order to solve this problem, national and international recommendations for physical activity were developed. The aims of this review are to describe the impact of physical activity in aging and longevity, review the existing guidelines of physical activity and develop efficient interventions to reduce sedentary levels and increase lifespan and healthspan.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________