Not content to sit on her laurels all day, one Aberdeenshire centenarian has been reaping the benefits of a new healthy initiative being rolled out across the country – by lifting weights and getting active.
Betty Aitken, who celebrated her 100th birthday in February this year, has been taking part in a weekly regime of workouts with a personal trainer who visits her at Allachburn Care Home in Aboyne as part of an exercise group.
The £1million project Care About Physical Activity (CAPA) is funded by the Scottish Government and is led by the Care Inspectorate to help maintain people in their own home environment.
The exercise programme aims to boost physical activity for older people and gives them opportunities to move more in order to prevent ill health and admission to hospital.
Working on the advice that experts say moving more often is a really important way for older people to stay healthy and well, personal trainer Danielle Dutton is in charge of putting Mrs Aitken through her paces.
“I’ve been visiting the home to work with the residents and have seen a huge improvement in Betty,” said Mrs Dutton.
“Betty has significantly improved strength and balance through working with dumb bells and therabands.
“She can now walk further, feels steadier, has reduced her falls and also reports a marked improvement in her emotional and mental wellbeing.”
Mrs Dutton added: “I’ve been working with Betty for about a year now. As well as increased flexibility, Betty’s personal care has also improved.
“She is now able to do things for herself which she wasn’t able to do before. She can get into bed much more easily and can now get in and out of the car. Betty loves feeling more independent. She can even reach her hands around her back.
“It is a privilege to be working with Betty and to see the progress she has made. I am very happy and find it very rewarding, it gives me job satisfaction knowing I am improving her way of life and giving her more independence.”
The young-at-heart Mrs Aitken enjoys working with her personal trainer and looks forward to her visits. She said: “I enjoy my exercise, I feel more relaxed and energetic and it means I can walk better. I can stand up better from my chair than previously as I struggled. It has loosened my limbs.”
The Care Inspectorate is encouraging all care services to get involved with promoting physical activity for older people.
CAPA Improvement Adviser for Aberdeenshire, Paula Bisset, said: “It’s brilliant to hear about the work happening at Allachburn and in particular, Betty’s story. CAPA is all about working with people experiencing care to help them to make small improvements that can have a big impact on their quality of life, health and wellbeing. It just goes to show that moving meaningfully and making improvements can happen at any age.”
For more information, visit www.capa.scot