The relationship between Physical Activity, Elderly and Technologies: a literature review

The aging of the population is one of the most important phenomenon of the twenty-first century and one of the largest economic and social challenge for society. The relevance of this process and its consequences at global level are now clear: the study of demographic indicators, the data on living conditions and on population health, are important sources from which have a clear vision of the phenomenon and its trends. In 2015, on the occasion of the international Day for the elderly, the WHO presented the “World Report on aging and health” [WHO, 2015]. According to current estimates, the absolute number of elderly people in the World population has increased dramatically and continues to do so at an ever-increasing pace. Nowadays, in fact, the majority of people, globally, reaches and exceeds 60 years; this percentage is expected to increase significantly by 2050. In the same vein, Europe records a significant increase of the percentage of the population over 60. According to the Aging Index of the European countries, in 2007, Germany (146.4%)1, Italy (142.8%) and Greece (130.6%) were the oldest countries in Europe [ISTAT, 2008], while in 2013, Germany (158.4%) and Italy (151.4%) were again the oldest countries in Europe, showing a significant increase of the percentages [ISTAT, 2014]. This rapid aging of the population has made the old age a dynamic and variable process that requires individual to age in good health, thanks especially to the increasing improvement of living conditions and medical advances. Quite the reverse, it can be witnessed an increase of the neurodegenerative and chronic-degenerative diseases, which are the main cause of the frailty and disability. Additionally, other aspects are inevitably correlated with health status and with the quality of life of the older people. We are talking about emotional, social and relational conditions bringing the elderly to consider himself incompetent, useless, excluded from a society that considers them as a burden, nurturing in such a way conditions like loneliness, isolation and depression. With the aim to promote aging in good health, it’s important to put in place policies and strategies based not only on the needs of the person, that involving all the components of elderly’s everyday life, i.e. health care, active lifestyle, community participation, social inclusion, lifelong learning, active participation, etc. The focus, therefore, should be on human rights and on the possibility of its participation in community life: only in this way the actions will be in favour of an “Active Aging” [WHO, 2002]. Physical activity is undoubtedly one of the factors that can positively influence the health and wellbeing. Bodily movements lead to an energy expenditure, including the actions and activities that characterize daily life, such as climbing stairs, walking or carrying the shopping bags. The positive impact and the benefits of physical activity on the aging process are evidentNumerous scientific evidences show that even a moderate amounts of physical activity may exert a protective effect on health, confirming that the movement and an active lifestyle, are decisive factors for the purpose of a successful aging [Chodzko-Zajko et al., 2009]. The research on this topic and the enhancement of the knowledge about its social and personal implication, led to an increasing interest towards the creation of recommendations, guidelines, protocols, policies and networks implemented in favour of the welfare of people of all ages2. Even the ICT (Information and Communication Technology) is increasingly present in the area of the individual wellbeing. Recently, there has been an evolution of the developed technologies and, at the same time, an evolution of the users. We moved from the concept of traditional medicine to telehealth (or eHealth), from home assistance to telecare and to remote rescue, to new areas of use for technological systems such as Exergame, wearable devices, activity tracker. Similarly, we have witnessed a shifting from technologies reserved for a few users, to technologies for all age groups. As well as being in favour of the care and wellbeing of people, today ICTs are more and more age-friendly, thanks mainly to an increase in the percentage of elderly people able to use technological devices. In this light, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between ICT, physical activity and elderly, and understand the current state of research about these issues.