Transcript Technology’s role in maintaining healthy life styles

Keeping older workers on the job and using
technology to maintain health
Remarks for the meeting of the Dutch Ministry of Health,
Welfare and Sport, November,13, 2007
Technische Universiteit Eindhoven
James L. Fozard, Ph.D.
University of South Florida
Tampa, FL 33618 USA
[email protected]
Half of US Workforce is over 45
In Japan almost 20% of the population is already over 65, the highest
share in the world.
In the United States the number of workers aged 55-64 will have
increased by more than half in this decade, at the same time as the 35to 44-year-olds decline by 10%. (Economist 2/18/2006)
In Workforce Crisis" by Ken Dychtwald, Tamara Erickson
and Robert Morison, say a shortage of skills and a cut in the
supply of labor are "already threatening the performance of
many corporations".
Employers need to encourage good health of
older workers., Occupational Health, Jan. 2007,
Vol. 59
Lessons from the Dutch Ministry of
Health, Welfare and Sport
• In 1996, A symposium, “Problems and solutions
in longitudinal research” was held in honor of the
20th anniversary of the Amsterdam Growth and
Health Longitudinal Study
• Opening address by Secy Erica Terpstra
• I served as one of the two peer reviewers for the
13 invited papers published in the International
Journal of Sports Medicine, July 1997, 18,
Suppl 3, S139-S254
• One important finding was that maintaining
fitness is a lifetime job
Importance of Healthy lifestyle
begins early in life
• Blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk
factors were measured in 1500 boys and girls
ranging age from 5-14 years and again 15 years
later. Over 18% of the adults who were in the
highest quintile of blood pressure as children
developed essential hypertension as opposed to
5% in the lower quintiles
– Bao W, Threefoot SR, Strinivasen SR, Berenson GS. Essential hypertension
predicted by tracking of elevated blood pressure from childhood to adulthood: The
Bogalusa Heart Study. Amer J Hypertension 1995, 8(7), 1-8
– Twisk J Tracking of blood cholesterol over a 15 year peiod and its relation to other
risk factors for coronary heart disease. Den Haag, NL: CIP-Data Koninklijk
Bibliotheek, 1995
Midlife strength predicts
functioning 25 years later
• Grip strength measured at age 45 to 68 in
Japanese-American men.
• 25 years later speed of walking, ability to stand
up from chair, and self-reports of difficulty lifting
10 lbs, doing housework, etc were measured.
• Performance was directly related to strength as
measured 25 years earlier
•
Rantanen T, Guralnik JM, Masaki K et al Midlife hand grip strength as a predictor of
old age disability JAMA 1999;281:558-560
Relative effort (%) of maximum
strength required to perform ADLs
TASK
AGE
Ascending
Stairs
Descending Rising from
Stairs
Chair
22
55
35
35
74
80
88
80
Effects of strength training on
mobility—basic findings
• Strength training and physical activity
improve muscle mass, control of
movement, and balance
•
•
•
•
Fiaterone MA, Marks EC, Ryan ND et al. High-intensity strength training in
nonogernians:Effects of skeletal muscle. J Am Med Ass, 1990;263:3029.
Ivey FM, Tracy BL, Lemmer JT, NessAiver M, SM, Metter EJ, Fozard JL,
Hurley BH. The effects of strength training and detraining on muscle quality
Age and gender comparisons J Gerontol:Biol Sci 2000;55A:B152-B157.
Miller ME, Rejeski WJ, Reboussin BA, Ten Have TR, Ettinger WH Physical
activity, funtional limitations and disability in older adults J Am Ger Soc
2000;48:1264-1272.
Since 2000, dozens of well designed studies extend these early
studies e.g., J. Gerontology: Med Sci 2007;62A;(June);2007; 62A(Aug)
Technology’s roles in strength
training
• Machines can motivate training
– Networking can improve motivation and quality of
feedback from strength training
– Reinforcement from sharing information by peers
doing similar workouts
• Machines can help set goals for training
– Wearable sensors provide continuous information
to set goals for training. This is very important
because the majority of well-intentioned trainers
do not set goals high enough
Technology and setting goals for
strength training
• Prevention requires that we set standards for
reserve strength needed for adequate
functioning at a later age
• Early estimates--we need 40% of our strength at
age 25 to function well at age70
• Wearable transducers provide information on
quality and required number of maneuvers
– New technology development at University of Pisa by
Dr. E. Piaggio allows for Kinesthetic sensing by use of
smart fabrics in gloves, socks and leotards
– http://www.piaggio.ccii.unipi.it/kine.htm
Boston Red Sox Deploy
Activity-Monitoring Technology
In Spring training, Boston Red Sox players wore a small,
wireless, intelligent pedometer called the ActiPed, from
Massachusetts-based FitSense Technology. It's an
activity monitor that accurately tracks your every step,
the calories you burn, how much time you've been active,
and how far you went in miles.
The ActiHealth network provides physiological
information and feedback tools for health and wellness
program providers that engage and motivate their
members, changing their behaviors and improving
health. The network seamlessly collects, transports, and
presents information on physical activity, weight, body
fat, blood pressure, heart rate, peak flow, and blood
glucose, for anyone, anytime, anywhere.
Technology and motivation:
Computerized coaching
• FitLinxx is a computerized system that attaches directly
to existing fitness equipment
– FitLinxx “learns” users' programs, “coaches” them individually
through their workout for better form, safety and confidence
during every exercise, and “tracks” their progress over time.
• On strength equipment, FitLinxx appears as an easy-toread touch-screen display that's attached to the
machine. For cardiovascular equipment, each machine's
existing console is simply networked to FitLinxx
– Users simply tap in their PIN to display their targets - FitLinxx
then coaches them on speed, form, heart rate, etc., and tracks
the workout session - every rep, set and step.
• http://www.fitlinxx.com/Article.htm?ID=976