HERE IS THE NEWS
Recently published scientific research has found that many of the problems that we have assumed were due to ageing, and therefore could neither be prevented nor treated , are not the consequence of this normalbiological process. Ageing by itself is not a cause of major problems till the mid nineties. The problems that we have ascribed to ageing ,including disability, dementia and frailty are due to three other processes –disease, much of it preventable, loss of fitness and negative beliefs and attitudes. True you need a bit of luck to avoid the diseases we cannot prevent and to be born into a favourable environment but the decline in ability and resilience that we have assumed to be the result of ageing can be influencedprincipally by activity, physical ,mental and social
That piece of good news has not yet been on the BBC news so our plan is to broadcast it on the Internet in a radio channel focused on health and wellbeing for people who are ageing. Some of it will also be visible, like television because the Internet allows new means of communication. Of course, not everyone over 60 is 'on the Internet' but they will be. Tim Berners Lee, now over 60 himself said inn 2000, when asked his ten year ambition that it was that 'in ten years time no-one would use the term the Internet' meaning that it would be like electricity, everywhere and used by everyone, and part of our programme is to help everyone over 60 get online using digital TV or a phone (no-one under 30 uses the term smartphone!) or Amazon's Echodot or Echoshow
Recently published scientific research has found that many of the problems that we have assumed were due to ageing, and therefore could neither be prevented nor treated , are not the consequence of this normalbiological process. Ageing by itself is not a cause of major problems till the mid nineties. The problems that we have ascribed to ageing ,including disability, dementia and frailty are due to three other processes –disease, much of it preventable, loss of fitness and negative beliefs and attitudes. True you need a bit of luck to avoid the diseases we cannot prevent and to be born into a favourable environment but the decline in ability and resilience that we have assumed to be the result of ageing can be influencedprincipally by activity, physical ,mental and social
- Firstly we can slow the rate of decline and people of any age who are in the top quartileof fitness for their age group have the same ability level as people 10 years younger
- Secondly we can reverse the decline and increase abilityby closing the fitness gap , at any age and no matter how many long term conditions the preson has
- Thirdly we can increase an individual’s resilience, or reserveto use another term , so that the ycope much better with an untoward event such as a trip or a chest infection or a change in temperature, thus reducing the need for hospital admission and the duration of hospital stay
That piece of good news has not yet been on the BBC news so our plan is to broadcast it on the Internet in a radio channel focused on health and wellbeing for people who are ageing. Some of it will also be visible, like television because the Internet allows new means of communication. Of course, not everyone over 60 is 'on the Internet' but they will be. Tim Berners Lee, now over 60 himself said inn 2000, when asked his ten year ambition that it was that 'in ten years time no-one would use the term the Internet' meaning that it would be like electricity, everywhere and used by everyone, and part of our programme is to help everyone over 60 get online using digital TV or a phone (no-one under 30 uses the term smartphone!) or Amazon's Echodot or Echoshow