Dhe reaching for a cigarette has been a habit for decades. Likewise the great fondness for sweet Danish pastries and hearty greasy dishes. And you were never a real jock anyway. It is only too well known what the recommendations for a long life are: plenty of exercise, a balanced diet, abstinence from alcohol and cigarettes.
In medicine, it is undisputed that such a healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk of many diseases – and that unhealthy habits increase the risk: for example high blood pressure, arthrosis, lung cancer, diabetes and many other diseases.
But what if the diagnoses have already been made and the vicious habits are firmly connected to one’s everyday life? “The train has left, but there’s no point in changing over now,” may be the first impulse.
Disease cannot be reversed
A mistake when it comes to the geriatrician Brigitte Buchwald-Lancaster. “It brings added value to do something for yourself at any age,” says the chief physician at the Center for Acute Geriatrics and Early Rehabilitation at the Munich Clinic Neuperlach.
Completely reversing illnesses in old age is, of course, hardly possible. “But it’s also not about achieving a state of perfect health through it.”
If you change your habits as you get older, you can gain more time in life. For example, a change in diet can have a positive effect on remaining life expectancy.
With a Mediterranean diet to longer life
This has been well researched in the case of the Mediterranean diet, as Rainer Wirth says. He is President of the German Society for Geriatrics. Mediterranean diet means: lots of fresh vegetables and fruit, little meat, lots of fish and high-quality oils.
“If a 20-year-old changes to that, he gains about ten years of life. If a 60-year-old makes this change, he still gains about eight years of life,” says Wirth.
And even someone who is 80 years old can still get a good three additional years by changing their diet. At least in the statistically calculated mean – one may be able to do more, the other less.
Lifetime can also be gained by quitting smoking. Buchwald-Lancaster refers to studies from the USA: If people who have been heavy smokers all their lives stop between the ages of 55 and 64, they can gain an average of four years in life.
The quality of life also improves noticeably
However, by adopting healthier habits – even in old age – you can not only give yourself more time to live, but also a better quality of life. “After quitting smoking, for example, you feel better, you taste better. The tendency to chronic bronchitis improves after months,” Rainer Wirth lists.
In addition, the lung function is strengthened and the risk of vascular diseases decreases – even in old age. And those who declare war on obesity will probably be rewarded with less pain. If the “rucksack” of body weight that you carry around with you every day becomes lighter, your joints, such as your knees, will hurt less.
A healthy lifestyle also helps to maintain independence in old age. Brigitte Buchwald-Lancaster explains this using the example of regular movement. “You don’t have to be a super athlete, it can be enough to go for a walk for half an hour a day.”
If you don’t do anything, you’ll lose muscle. The gait then becomes less secure and the risk of falling increases. “And often it is a fall that sets in motion a downward spiral so that an older person can no longer live independently at home.”
However, realistic expectations are important. “If you have serious chronic illnesses, it can of course be difficult to still perceive the benefits of a change, i.e. in terms of an increased quality of life,” says Rainer Wirth.
And adds: “I believe in principle in every situation in which someone still lives halfway independently at home, a change in lifestyle also brings an improvement in the quality of life.”
Small steps and measurable goals
But changing habits is difficult. Stop smoking, change your diet, get out for an hour every day: “You can’t work on three or four construction sites at the same time,” says Rainer Wirth. The risk of not going through with the change in the end is too great – and full of frustration falling back into old patterns.
It makes more sense to focus on one area first. “Even the individual components are highly effective,” says geriatrician Wirth. He advises setting small, measurable goals.
If you want to move more, you can use the pedometer in your smartphone to help you – and work your way up from 2,000 steps to 5,000 steps a day, for example.
According to Brigitte Buchwald-Lancaster, the resolution to “More exercise” is easier when you have a group behind you. If you want to move more, you can join a gymnastics group, a cardio group or an exercise program to prevent falls.
Radical dieting in old age is not a good idea
Exactly what goals you set yourself depends on your personal health situation. And it makes sense to discuss major lifestyle changes with your doctor. Because: “Overly heavy diets, for example, are no longer recommended in old age because there is a risk of malnutrition,” says Buchwald-Lancaster.
In addition, muscle mass is lost with the kilos. A better approach may then be to eat more protein. Because proteins play a major role in maintaining the muscles and thus mobility in old age.
By the way: According to geriatrician Buchwald-Lancaster, a healthy lifestyle also includes taking care of your mental well-being. By making regular appointments with others, for example. “Activity and social participation are important for mental health.”
And maybe now is the time to get a pet. Studies show that people can benefit from this in terms of health. “People who take care of a pet have better cognitive function, are more mobile, have less cardiovascular disease,” says Buchwald-Lancaster. For some, the dog is the very best motivation to go for a walk every day.