CONDUCT ACTIVITY TO INCREASE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ELDERLY PEOPLE

Jakarta, May 28, 2023 – PT Kalbe Farma Tbk or Kalbe has conducteda special activity for elderly people in commemorating the National Elderly Day (HLUN). The activity was themed Healthy Geriatric, Good Quality of Life and was conducted in Galea Ethimo, Rumah Perubahan.

In 2023, this annual event was attended by around 300 elderly people from various communities in the Jabodetabek (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi) area. These included the Elderly Community Forum (FKLU), the Retired Families of the State Electricity Company (IKPLN), the Bugar Ceria Elderly Community, and various aerobic communities.

“This celebration is a form of caring from Kalbe to the elderly people in order to maintain their quality of life. They are an age group that requires a special attention, especially since they often experience a decreasing body function. Since this physical condition can affect their productivity, a balanced nutrition must be maintained through daily nutritional intakes,” as stated by dr. Selvinna, M.Biomed., the President Director of PT Finusolprima Farma Internasional, a Kalbe Company.

She then added, “Kalbe is contributing in increasing the quality of life for elderly people through a series of HLUN events. This include health education through seminars and talkshows and health examinations, as well as conducting creative and sustainable elderly community developments such as routined meetings and gatherings. The HLUN celebration will be held at June 11, 2023 in Yogyakarta, Old Shanghai Sedayu City, and Pantjoran PIK.”

According to the 2022 data from Pusdatin (the Data and Information Center of the Ministry of Health), there have been an increase of elderly people in Indonesia, where it reached 31 million people compared with the 2016 population of 22 million people. The growth rate of the elderly population must be balanced with a good quality of life in order to establish healthy, strong, and productive elderly people.

“Healthy elderly people include physical, mental, spiritual, and social health. To be a healthy elderly person, we require a body that can support daily activities, making them independent and productive as long as possible,” as stated by dr. Ika Fitriana, Sp.PD-K.Ger., a Geriatric Consultant Internal Medicine Specialist.

She then revealed that muscles had an important role for the body to support daily activities. One muscle abnormality that concerns with the aging process is sarcopenia, a loss of mass and/or muscle power followed by the decreasing physical performance. Elderly people with a decreased physical performance will have difficulties when doing activities, health problems that cause difficulties when being active again, a tendency of falling that can cause fractures, and depression.

As dr. Ika stated, “The good news is sarcopenia can be prevented early, by maintaining muscle health through nutritions and physical activities. The most recommended activity is a multimodal physical exercise that requires nutritions rich in protein and other substances needed for muscle works, including various electrolytes (from vegetables and fruit), omega 3, antioxidants, vitamin D, and minerals such as calcium.”

Elderly people must also be careful with various new diseases that can appear suddenly. Learning from the Covid-19 pandemic, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC revealed that elderly people at the age of 65 or more are more vunerable and will experience a higher severity of Covid-19 infection. According to dr. Ika, the main cause is the weakening of their body condition and immune system, especially when they have congenital chronic diseases.

“We do not know the condition or the spread of any diseases after the Covid-19 pandemic, so the public needs to be alerted. Climate change, population density, and social media can change many things. Therefore, a healthy lifestyle is the best response if we want to stay productive,” as stated by Prof. Rhenald Kasali, Ph.D., a geriatric figure and Founder of Rumah Perubahan.

“One solution in fulfilling the nutritional intake for elderly people is liquid food, like Entramix and Entrasoy that contain the CAKEP (Calcium, Carbohydrates, Energy, and Protein) formula. The formula can fulfill the nutritional needs for elderly people, making them stay healthy, strong, and productive,” as explained by Airin Levina, S.Gz., a Nutritionist and Brand Owner of Entramix and Entrasoy.

According to Airin, Entramix is made from 100% animal protein of milk whey and casein, while Entrasoy is made from 100% plant protein or soy and is suited for elderly people with animal protein and lactose allergies and a vegan lifestyle. Both Entramix and Entrasoy are consumed one glass a day to fulfill a balanced nutrition for elderly people.