RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LIFE STYLE AND HEALTH STATUS OF RETIRED CIVIL SERVANT IN KATSINA STATE, NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1      Background to the Study

Retirement is the total withdraw of a worker‟s services from an organization after putting in some specified number of years or having attained the specified retirement age (Yantumaki, 2005). Akinde, (2003) defines retirement as a final stage of life when one leaves an occupation which are had to been involved in for a considerable length of individual‟s working life. The individual‟s service years are significantly related to his health status. Health status according (WHO, 2012) is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living organism. It is the ability of individuals to adapt and self manage when facing physical, mental or social challenges or health in its broader sense. Health status of the retired can be said to be fragile due to their advanced age. There are a lot of diseases which manifest with the setting of old age such as hypertension, diabetes, rheumatism, sight failure etc. Mostly people of advanced age who enjoy these conditions are the educated or literate persons who may have regular income on retirement whose children are gainfully engaged in income generating ventures and are taking proper care of them.

Retirement is life course transition in late adult life that marked by major changes that may affect healthy lifestyle (Lahti, 2011). The absence of work activities and restrictions affect daily routine and time availability. Moreover, retirement is often accompanied by changes in identity and changes in social contacts and social activities. Also retirement may lead to a decrease income. Due to all these changes, retirees, priorities, way of life and healthy lifestyles are likely to change as well. Chung (2009) retirement may affect healthy lifestyle changes through several mechanisms, as increase leisure time and loss of restrictions, changing social contacts, stress, and reorientation on health. The circumstances surrounding the retirement may influence these changes, especially if retirees frame their retirement as voluntary or not. Adopting a healthy lifestyle is by no means easy at older age. Supporting the adoption of a healthy lifestyle at the right moment is therefore an important public health issue.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LIFE STYLE AND HEALTH STATUS OF RETIRED CIVIL SERVANT IN KATSINA STATE, NIGERIA