NICE has published guidance focusing on delaying and preventing disability, frailty and onset dementia in a persons’ later life.
The guideline recommends promoting a healthy lifestyle, for example interventions and actions that can be promoted to prevent later life health problems. These include: stopping smoking, reducing alcohol consumption, losing weight (if necessary), maintaining a healthy weight and increasing activity.
The guideline, aimed at commissioners, managers and practitioners, explains that there is an increased likelihood of reducing health issues including dementia, disability and frailty the earlier in life people make healthier changes. Although, it should be ensured that ‘messages do not stigmatise’ those people who develop these health problems. Therefore, people should be told that, although risks factors can be reduced (by the recommendations), there are still other factors that can affect a persons’ health such as genetic susceptibility that cannot be changed by lifestyle alterations.
For the full guidance visit: nice.org.uk/guidance/ng16
9
