Lifespan is how long we live. Healthspan is how long we live well.
The aging process takes a significant toll on our bodies limiting our functional capacity and diminishing the quality of our lives. We lose up to 3% of our muscle mass per year, 1% of our bone density per year, and our cellular physiology changes leading to metabolic syndrome, diabetes, hypertension, heart attacks, and strokes, plus our brains shrink by about 1% per year with attendant memory issues and dementia.
Lack of exercise costs the healthcare system $117 billion per year. This does not include the untold suffering from falls, loss of independence, and the burdens placed on our families.
We cannot stop the aging process, but we can slow it down.
Exercise creates biochemical changes that can mitigate all these changes. We can add new muscle, strengthen our bones, reduce our blood pressure, improve body composition and a host of other physiologic changes. We can improve our healthspan to more nearly match our lifespans.
We are developing an easy-to-use app, “GetMoovin,” to make exercise fun and create community through a free photo sharing platform. In addition, it provides a sophisticated subscription side to help people plan their healthspans by guiding them through a process of identifying what is important to them and providing a program to make sure they can do the things that are important to them as they age.
Speaker(s): Jack Keene, MD, FACEP, Anne L. Friedlander, PhD
Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/359276