Abstract
The present research focuses on the delicate and complex process of senilization of the population, being one of the most important anthropological and social problems of our time. These considerations lead us to examine not so much the aging process itself, but the relationship between the third age and society, focusing on the factors that promote or inhibit well-being and the relative perceptions that emerged in the sample.
In this sense, an online questionnaire was administered, by email and by telephone message, over a period of approximately 10 months starting from March 2021 until December 2021. The questionnaire included multiple choice questions that produced clear data and simple analysis, arriving at an accurate analysis (qualitative and quantitative), on the topics of interest: the role of nutrition and sport in the over 65s, not only by the subjects in question, but also the considerations and perceptions of subjects belonging to different age groups with reference to the topics of interest relating to the third age.
The sample results, allow us to identify the appropriate intervention strategies and policies useful for eradicating the stereotype that accompanied the concept of old age until a few years ago, making it synonymous with illness, loneliness, fragility and uselessness. Finally, today, we have freed ourselves from the role of “sedentary elderly” and motor activity in the third age is increasingly widespread and relevant as can be seen from the data analysis.
This research is the result of a program that has been in place for several years now to combat the hypokinesis diseases, through physical movement and particularly by examples of appropriate lifestyles. This initiative was conceived and implemented by C.I.S.C.O.D. (Comitato Italiano Sport Contro Droga) and CO.NA.P.E.F.S. (Collegio Nazionale Professori Educazione Fisica e Laureati in Scienze Motorie), two C.O.N.I. well-deserving associations, and carried out as part of a larger "Survey on nutrition and culture over 65" project, proclaimed by Sport & Salute S.p.A.