Bilbao organizes 154 activities to alleviate the loneliness of the elderly
The town council offers weekly workshops on nutrition, physical activity and disease prevention
Preventing falls and seasonal illnesses, toning up muscles or knowing what a healthy diet should be like are some of the topics that the more than 2,500 citizens registered in the ‘health for the elderly’ workshops, promoted by the City Council of Bilbao. Although the initiative also aims to “improve social relations and combat loneliness”, the Deputy Mayor and Councilor for Health and Consumption, Yolanda Díez, pointed out this Tuesday. There will be a total of 154 activities that will take place between October this year and June 2023.
Every week, physical exercise sessions adapted to the ages of the participants and their condition will be organized, as well as talks on balanced diets or topics of interest such as protecting yourself against complaints. A diverse program that hopes to bring together 2,521 residents of the town. A much higher participation than that which occurred last year, when about 1,200 people approached the hundred workshops proposed. All the activities take place in municipal centers distributed throughout all the districts of the town, so that those interested can approach the one closest to their residence. The groups to participate in the sessions are already constituted, but a waiting list has been opened for interested parties who can join in case of vacancies.
Parallel to this proposal, the City Council recalls the existence of the ‘network of walkers and healthy parks’. Hiking activities in which this age profile has a high participation. This is an initiative developed along 15 routes and in the 16 bio-healthy parks that are scattered around Bilbao and is open to all citizens. Last year, between the routes of the network of walkers and the bio-healthy parks, 7,500 people gathered.
«A ghost that flies over the elders»
The initial approach is that once the barrier of 70 years was overcome, the people of Bilbao carried out tasks focused on a healthy life. And, as such, social life must be found within those occupations that improve their quality of life. In this sense, the councilor has pointed out that one of the objectives of the program is to combat loneliness, “one of those ghosts that always hovers in this group and that on many occasions we are unable to combat.”
The profile of the participants last year was a woman with an average age of 79 years who had not led an excessively active life in terms of physical exercise. To cost this program, the Health and Consumption area will allocate around 168,000 euros from this year’s budgets.
On the other hand, the councilwoman Yolanda Díez has celebrated the NAOS Strategy Award that the department she leads has received. An award granted by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and that values the practice of physical activity in the family and community. The area governed by Díez has achieved this recognition for its Comprehensive Physical Activity Program for the Elderly. On November 28, the collection act will take place in Madrid.