NICA | Exploring the Future of Mobility and Gait in China
Intrinsic Independence
Walking Well
MICRO TREND
Improving older adults’ ability to ambulate After decades confined to specialist research centres, devices and services that help older adults maintain and improve their walking ability are moving into the mainstream. Data-centric consumers and a wave of new devices are setting the landscape for a new era of walking in China. Walking remains the primary form of mobility in China, with 55% of citizens walking daily15 as opposed to taking another form of transport. According to a 2013 study, walking is favoured by all age groups over 60 years old in China16, indicating an opportunity to support this preference. A growing body of research has also highlighted the positive health benefits of walking and its impact on longevity. A study led by researchers at the American Cancer Society17 found that even low levels of walking are linked with lower mortality, which means walking may help people live longer. These findings have been further supported by a study published in the November 2019 edition of the British Journal of Sports Medicine18. It showed that runners who turn out more often, and who run faster in longer sessions, do not reduce their risk of dying early any more than those who run gently once a week. For older adults, protecting their ability to walk will become a priority, ensuring a low cost and effective method of exercise and wellbeing. As well as for exercise, maintaining an ability to ambulate reduces the potential of short or long-term adverse health
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implications caused by falling. Over 40 million older Chinese adults experience a fall at least once annually19, with 20% of falls resulting in serious injuries, which can lead to long-term health issues. With insufficient care resources and delayed retirement, older adults and their families are motivated to find ways to maintain the ability to walk. Family members have already shown an interest in smart home technologies20 that allow them to monitor if their parents to see if they have fallen. Offered the opportunity, expect to see investment into preventative solutions gain popularity. The increasing popularity of health monitoring devices can be seen in the growth of the wearable technology space. In China, 36% of citizens own a smart wearable fitness device21, and many more have access to fitness/health data through their smartphones. Becoming more literate in the use and interpretation of health and fitness data, an appetite for more detailed data is likely to emerge. Affordable ‘at-home’ personal solutions are likely to gain further appeal as older adults looking to maintain a high-quality gait to reduce falls, injury, long-term health issues and maintain their independence.
© Zhang Kaiyv
