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Fitness: 6 self-tests to assess your health
Healthy aging is everyone’s dream. And one of the keys to this success is to quickly recognize certain telltale signs of fragility. To achieve this, the WHO has developed six small tests to be carried out at home in less than fifteen minutes flat!
Tests to do at home
According to statistics from the UN’s State of World Population Report, one in six people in the world will be over 65 by 2050 (16%), compared to one in eleven in 2019 (9%). Stay in shape as long as possible has therefore become an issue for all the populations of the globe. As a result, the World Health Organization, in collaboration with the Toulouse gerontopôle, has set up a preventive program to limit the number of dependent elderly people in the years to come.
Simple and fun tests
“ICOPE” for “Integrated Care for the Elderly” is a program for people aged 60 and over. The idea is simple: by detecting the signs of fragility as early as possible, we avoid the loss of autonomy.
Using petits car tests, so you can evaluate your physical abilities such as sight, hearing, mobility, or your mood and eating habits. No hardware is needed, just take 10 to 15 minutes time in your day. At best, it is advisable to carry out this evaluation with the help of an outside person who will be a better judge than yourself.
An interactive program to accompany you
To carry out the series of self-tests, you can use a computer or a mobile phone. The ICOPE application created by the WHO is available here for all types of mobiles.
The other advantage of this program is that it can also be carried out remotely. So you can use it to test the health of a loved one. This is also the case for health professionals who can also use it to assess their patient. Finally, for it to be effective, the WHO advises to carry it out twice a year from age 60. But concretely, what do these self-tests consist of?
Mobility, hearing and vision
How is your mobility?
For test your mobility, some exercises are proposed. For example, you must get up from a chair without using your hands five times in a row in less than 14 seconds (16 seconds past 80). A second exercise consists of holding more than 20 seconds on one foot and without support.
Recognize a visual and/or auditory deficit
The Autonomy loss can also come from a decrease in visual and/or auditory acuity. Two inevitable disorders appear with age. To help you see things more clearly, without pun intended, the ICOPE program asks you another series of questions to find out if your sight has deteriorated over the past few months, if you have other pathologies that might affect vision, etc. The same type of questions are then asked concerning the hearing.
Psychology, memory and nutrition
Do you still have a good memory? The program asks you all kinds of questions to assess your cognitive abilities. You’ll also have to remember certain words until the end of the session, or even think of a list of six things to buy and then repeat it a few minutes later.
There are also questions regarding nutrition. The program asks you for information regarding your weight and your appetite. For example, he seeks to know if during the last three months, you have happened to lose a few pounds without wanting to, which might be the sign of a pathology.
Identify psychological disorders
To stay healthy you need keep morale ! A recent study highlights the link between the fear of aging and health. Thus, people who have a negative perception of their aging would have three times more physical health problems than others. The program therefore asks questions to find out if you are sad or depressed.
Once the tests are finished, the program analyzes your needs and directs you to the better accompaniment to potentially conduct more in-depth examinations.
