An aging generation with multiple chronic conditions will challenge the future healthcare system and society in general. Healthy aging is therefore a theme more important than ever before.
Over 41,000 elderly citizens with an average age of 84 live in one of Denmark's 950 nursing homes [1]. The population of Danish citizens over 80 years will have doubled by 2050 [2], and by 2100 this figure will have tripled in Europe [3], and globally there will already be about 2 billion elderly compared to the about 0.5 billion that there are today [4].
Several studies show that citizens in nursing homes are completely physically inactive for 79-85% of their waking time, 12-20% on low physical activity, and only 1-2% on light, moderate, or intense physical activity [5, 6].
The combination of prolonged physical inactivity and old age is an ignored problem. Physical inactivity has serious and well-documented consequences on bones, muscles, and the cardiovascular system [7]. Even short-term physical inactivity in the elderly significantly reduces fitness and muscle mass [8].
Physical inactivity among the elderly causes more than 50,000 additional somatic admissions annually. Treatment and care of physical inactivity cost Danish society nearly 5 billion kroner annually and also cause more than 5,000 deaths [9].
Seated cycling exercise is a gentle, safe, and effective form of exercise for elderly citizens [10], and builds self-help in central ADL functions [11], such as standing up and taking several steps [12].
For older cognitively challenged citizens (e.g., with dementia), the great advantage of cycling exercise is its fundamental ability to increase the physical strength and sustained stability in the legs of the citizen [13]. A seated bicycle is safe to use for citizens with balance challenges. At the same time, it is gentle because it can gradually build up physical strength from a very low starting point of physical performance [10].
A study has found, for example, that (max) 15 minutes of seated cycling about 4 times a week, in just 3 weeks increased the average cycling distance of elderly citizens by 26% [12].
The result was a significant difference in the ability to walk (both distance and speed), improved both exercise duration and thread/strength, and the ability to rise from a sitting position [12]. Just 100 steps a day have been shown to result in a 10% reduction in the risk of physical complications such as disease recurrence [14].
Research shows that cycling makes the elderly 9-17% more efficient at walking [16].
Cycling trains the leg muscles used to take steps far more effectively than the equivalent time spent on a walk [15, 16]. But cycling exercise also works as a preventative for health risk areas, such as fall prevention.
30% of elderly Danish citizens living at home, and 50% of citizens in nursing homes, fall at least once a year [17].
Citizens with dementia are twice as likely to have fall episodes and recover more slowly afterward [17].
Falls can lead to serious, lasting injuries for the elderly [18]. With reduced efficiency of an elderly citizen's locomotor-based functions, such as balance, coordination, step length, and endurance, the risk of fall episodes increases [13]. With endurance-based physical activity, such as seated cycling exercise, the citizen's physical abilities are improved to an extent where it is directly proven as an effective method of fall prevention [13].
References can be found HERE
