Septuagenarian sticks closely to aerobics system to stay fit
Published:Saturday | February 3, 2024 | 12:06 AMAsha Wilks/Gleaner Writer
“Age is just a number; it all depends on how you feel,” Sylvester Norman James told The Gleaner on Thursday, declaring that physical activity was a key element of his daily routines.
This, he said, was so he could keep fit and remain as healthy as possible.
The 75-year-old is ailing from three eye diseases and lumbar spine-related issues, which cause him to utilise a walker. Despite this, he believes physical activity helps him to maintain some amount of strength as he grows older.
Along with using the walker to stabilise himself, he engages in leg-stretching exercises and also does push-ups, which help to alleviate lower back pains, he told The Gleaner.
James was among scores of people who turned out at the Ministry of Health & Wellness’ Know Your Numbers Campaign health fair at St William Grant Park in downtown Kingston on Thursday.
The campaign has been developed to encourage more Jamaicans to get screened for lifestyle diseases.
A range of services were available at the fair, including screening tests and examinations for blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels as well as body mass index checks, vision checks, dental checks, and denture impressions.
James praised the health ministry for staging the event, theorising that with the convenient location, this could have been the first time some people were having such screenings as many people are reluctant to check-ups and keep up with their health.
“I wish they would have more of these, not just in like Kingston and Ochi (Ocho Rios). I know they had one [there] previously, but also, [in] other parts of Jamaica,” he said.
James, a retired researcher in the field of life sciences, suggested that the ministry could also seek to establish channels to reach seniors who were shut-ins as they needed greater attention.
“They are the ones who need to be motivated where health consciousness is concerned,” he said, noting that a team of persons could visit these persons on a frequent basis and conduct examinations and screening tests while also building rapport to help motivate them in the midst of their loneliness.
James is a resident of a home for the aged in St Andrew. He said he is one of very few residents there who still have the ability to walk.
“Sometimes when you reach 60 [or] 70 [years old], they call it old, but age all depends on how you feel ... . Age is a number and you have to try and hang in there, so I think they (the elderly) need a little more motivation and a little more support,” James said.