Hop, skip, jump past ills

Utahns may be getting older, but they aren't all shuffling yet.

"People always tell me to slow down, slow down, but all my life I've been very active," said Florence Boulton, 86, of St. George.

Boulton, who has competed three times in the Huntsman Senior World Games "just for fun," won a gold in her division of the 5K at the 2002 Games. This mother of four, grandmother of 15, and great- grandmother of six, who also taught school for 61 years, explained, "It's always been helpful to play with the kids."

According to the U.S. Administration on Aging, the 65-plus population in Utah increased by 26.9 percent between 1990 and 2000, bringing the total now to 8.5 percent of Utah's total population. And for a population whose leading cause of death is heart disease, exercise is key, say medical experts.

Exercising can make "a very great difference (in health). It'll affect their mentality. If you're becoming more active, you're experiencing more -- it's keeping the senses alive," said Janet Cope, the R.N. supervisor for the Salt Lake Senior Clinic.

And with such medical anomalies as Utah centenarians --who were led by Cleo Cranney Hinckley until she died just two weeks shy of her 112th birthday last year-- for examples, many Utah elderly seem motivated to live longer and higher-quality lives.

"What's important is to just make up your mind to do it and then go do it," Boulton said. "It helps you help other people, too, because you encourage them to keep going."

The percentage of elderly people nationwide who say they're in excellent or good health lies at 38.7 percent, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. The percentage who are limited in activity is 34.7, and 1.6 million elderly people are in nursing homes.

Kristi Webb, recreation director of the Crestwood Care Center in Ogden, said keeping active has a number of important benefits for elderly living in nursing homes.

"A lot of residents realize they don't have to stay in bed all the time. Life doesn't end in a nursing home -- they can still lead a healthy, comfortable life," she said. "Exercise really keeps them free from isolation and free from pain and just makes things a lot easier."

The care center has an exercise group three times a week, and most participants are in wheelchairs. Activities include wheelchair volleyball, bowling, beachball tossing (to the music of the Beach Boys), kicking and stretching.

"If you isolate those muscles, it's not going to get better, it's going to get worse," Webb said. "But the more you move, the better you feel. Faithful attenders are less stiff, take less pain medication." Their depression levels are also lower than those who do not participate, she said.

"A lot of them really benefit, because number one, it's more social. It's our most well-attended activity," she said. "And that plays a big part in (preventing depression). It definitely makes a difference."

Cope cited having a sense of accomplishment as one of the key contributors to seniors' emotional and physical health, whether it be from volunteering, participating in community activities or exercising.

Since 1900, the percentage of Americans age 65 and over has more than tripled -- from 4.1 percent to 12.4 percent -- and the 85-plus population is projected to increase from 4.2 million in 2000 to 8.9 million in 2030.

And Boulton's advice to her aging peers?

"It's important to keep your body moving and not just sit in a wheelchair. It's important to just keep going," she said.

When asked if she hopes to reach the 100-year mark, she responded, "It depends on my health, but if I keep healthy, you bet."

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