If you think drinking beer is not a healthy habit, think again. Researchers have come up with some conclusions, which may change your mind.
A recent study conducted by Aske Juul Lassen from the University of Copenhagen's Centre of Healthy Aging reveals that drinking beer and playing Billiards helps in aging well and is something that keeps people above the age of 70 active.
Lassen conducted field work on activity centres for the elderly in Copenhagen, Denmark, and found that one in 15 men between the ages of 70 and 95 meet to play billiards four times a week.
"Playing billiards often comes with a certain life style – drinking beer and drams for instance – and I am quite sure this was not what WHO and EU meant when they formulated their active ageing policies. But billiards does constitute active ageing. Billiards is, first of all, an activity that these men thoroughly enjoy and that enhances their quality of life while immersing them in their local community and keeping them socially active," said Lassen
He also added that Billiards is a very suitable exercise for old people as the game varies naturally between the periods of activity and passivity, which in turn makes the men play the game for hours.
Lassen, who studied the European Union's and WHO's perceptions on aging, also said that there are lot of things which are not categorised as "healthy" by health authorities, but in fact helps the elderly enhance the quality of life.
"We therefore need a broader, more inclusive concept of healthy and active ageing that allows for the communities the elderly already take part in and that positively impact their everyday lives, quality of life, and general health. It must also allow for the fact that the elderly do not constitute a homogenous group of people: activities that for some seem insurmountable will be completely natural for others", added Lassen
He also said that senior citizens do not continuously focus on their ailments when they are engaged in something else.
