The Taiwanese Osteoporosis Association yesterday urged people to start doing strength training regularly and maintain sufficient protein intake before the age of 50 to prevent loss of mobility due to aging.
Association chairman Wing Chan (陳榮邦), director of Taipei Municipal Wanfang Hospital’s Department of Radiology, said that Taiwan’s demographic structure is changing drastically and is expected to become a super-aged society by 2025.
The elderly population was only about 1.49 million (7.1 percent of the total population) in 1993, but it is expected to reach more than 4.7 million (20.1 percent of the total population) by 2025, so maintaining mobility for elderly people would become an important issue, he said.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwanese Osteoporosis Association
“About one in three people in Taiwan have hidden risks of experiencing mobility problems,” Chan said, adding that an estimated 2.86 million people have low bone density (osteoporosis), an estimated 810,000 people have low muscle mass (sarcopenia) and an estimated 3.53 million people have joint disorders or degenerative joint disease.
Bone density, joint motion and muscle mass have an interactive relationship, and middle-aged people should start taking physical mobility seriously to maintain a better life quality when they reach old age, he said.
“Standing up very slowly or needing support when standing up from a sitting position might be early warning signs of mobility loss,” Chan said, adding that the clinical evaluation of mobility include a dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, a timed walk test, a handheld dynamometer reading, and a gait and balance assessment.
Three common problems that might lead to mobility loss are “only using pain relief patches, waist belts or knee protective gear” for muscle pain or weakness; “insufficient protein and calcium intake,” as many middle-aged or elderly people believe they should eat less meat; and “believing that taking a stroll, walking a dog or riding a bicycle” is enough exercise, but they are ineffective, he said.
Chan said the majority of elderly people in Taiwan have insufficient intake of dairy products, and while many people might drink soy milk for protein, milk contains more calcium and protein, as well as whey protein, which is an important source of essential amino acids to support muscle mass.
Huang Chun-feng (黃駿豐), director of National Yang-Ming University Hospital’s Department of Family Medicine, said the best way to prevent loss of mobility is to “improve protein intake” and to both do “cardio exercises and resistance training” regularly.
He suggested doing strength training two to three sessions per week to increase muscles strength and endurance, with each session lasting one-and-a-half hours.
The exercises can be daily activities such as lifting heavy grocery bags while climbing a flight of stairs, lifting water bottles or doing squats at home, or using exercise equipment in parks.
Drinking two cups of milk per day, especially during breakfast or after exercise, is also recommended for ensuring sufficient protein intake, he added.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by