Exercise

There are many benefits to exercising regularly. Exercise can help reduce a person’s risk of developing a number of chronic conditions, like diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure or cholesterol, osteoporosis, and heart disease. Similarly, regular exercise can lead to improvements in your mental health, cognition, sleep, balance, and reduce your risk of falls.

Importance for PLHIV50+

Generally, it is recommended that older adults do at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise on most days of the week. This might be done all at once, or in short, ten-minute blocks. Strength, flexibility and balance exercises are also important. Some examples of exercise including walking, dancing, swimming, gardening, climbing stairs, mopping and vacuuming, bowls, tai chi and yoga. Exercise can be a nice opportunity to socialise with friends, neighbours or relatives. 

Some form of physical exercise program is generally safe for all older adults, and can actually help various health conditions. However, if you are worried or have chronic health conditions, like heart disease, severe arthritis or asthma, it is important to check with your healthcare professional to see what sort of exercise will be right for you.