For seniors, avoiding frailty fosters better health: Op ed.
Anyone who has played the game Jenga knows that a structure can continue to look solid and strong even as pieces are slowly removed. But, at a certain point, when too many health deficits occur, the structure topples. It is a good analogy for the effects of frailty.
Looking at frailty in the context of this pandemic and the tragic outcomes in long-term care, it is abundantly clear that now, more than any time in history, we need to increase the resilience of people who are older and vulnerable to becoming frail.
More than one and a half million Canadians are living with frailty — equivalent to one in four adults over the age of 65. But it is important to realize that frailty is not an inevitable part of aging.