How can obese individuals stay fit in old age?

Question

Hello doctor,

My 65-year-old father has obesity and is finding it difficult to stay active due to joint pain and other age-related issues. What are safe and sustainable ways for someone of his age to lose weight and improve health without causing strain on his body? Are there any specific diet adjustments or low-impact exercises that would work best for older adults managing obesity?

Kindly help.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I read your query and can understand your concern.

At the age of 65 years, it becomes difficult to do any fast-paced activities. Hence, including some recreational activities with task-specific challenges can improve the condition.

Start creating some specific work for the day that he likes.

Any hobbies or everyday activities like gardening, walking, cleaning, playing, and reading can help reduce weight.
Create specific tasks allotted for an hour or more as work given to them.
Maintaining a diet with low carbohydrates, low fat, more protein, more vitamins and minerals, etc.
Hydrating the body with any fluids along with water like juices, smoothies, soups, etc to keep the sodium and potassium levels normal.
Non-weight bearing activities like active free exercises, mat exercises, yoga, upper body, trunk, and lower body stretches will help to maintain weight. Include deep breathing exercises on an everyday basis to increase the oxygen content in the body. Start with low-intensity workouts with high repetitions and low intensity. Then gradually you can increase either the repetitions or intensity.

Making him involved with any specific work of his choice is always advisable.

Let me know if I can assist you further.

Regards.