Özet:

Abstract This is a quantitative study carried out in 2015 with the aim of investigating the health behaviors of a sample of elderly people living in the city of Pará de Minas (MG), Brazil, and the relationship between the practice of activities and healthy aging. The sample consisted of 303 community-dwelling elderly, predominantly women, 60 years old and older, who did not present cognitive decline. More than half of the participants assessed their own health as excellent or good; the most prevalent chronic non-transmissible diseases were vision problems, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, allergy and rheumatic problems. The participants had good eating habits and did not use alcohol and tobacco and this fact may be related to the good perception of health reported. The elderly who practiced physical and mental activities presented lower number of diseases and/or better self-perception of health. We conclude that the practice of activities, especially physical and cognitive activities, contributes to the promotion of healthy aging.

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