Editorial: Exercise a must for stay-home elderly

March 31 , 2020

With more and more communities throughout Japan calling on citizens to stay at home, we must be mindful that people, particularly senior citizens, need their exercise. It is, of course, a vicious cycle: the lack of exercise tends to beget even less exercise—and any subsequent decline in a person’s overall health affects his or her immune system, making that person more susceptible to Covid-19.

The Covid-19 pandemic thus undermines two of the three pillars—exercise, nutrition and social interaction—for the elderly to prevent frailness.

How to allay the damage to seniors? The Japan Geriatrics Society website, for one, recommends that the elderly avoid sitting for prolonged periods and engage in a judicious amount of mild calisthenics conducted either over the radio or television. Speaking routinely with family members and friends over the phone or other media, digital or analog, is also vital in maintaining one’s emotional and mental health.

Such concerns come at a time when the government will be kicking off a program to combat senior citizen frailness in April. At the local government level, the program will be offered in a variety of modes and means—all of them to surely serve as vital tools for the elderly to prepare for and win out over the threat from Covid-19.