A new type of mall rat has invaded SM Bicutan in Taguig City.
On Tuesdays and Saturdays, a group of elderly people in yellow green shirts can be spotted working up a sweat as they walk back and forth on one floor of the mall’s Building A between 10 a.m. and noontime.
And unlike typical mall goers who wander around aimlessly from shop to shop, they come to SM Bicutan for a purpose: To walk their way to good health.
They belong to the Mall Walkers Club, an exercise group composed of members of the Association of Barangay Don Bosco Senior Citizens in Parañaque City.
“Once you reach 60 years old, you should take 4,500 steps a day,” Dr. Virgilio Ofiana told the Inquirer.
A senior citizen himself at 78 years old, he is tasked with monitoring the health of the mall walkers who are required to take at least 600 steps during their workout.
Ofiana observed that since the group was launched in March, the blood pressure of its members has improved. “It goes down after they walk,” he said.
A health writer and retired science information research executive for Unilab pharmaceutical company, he came up with the idea of forming the group after he read about such a club in the US on the Internet.
By coincidence, the association at around that time was looking for an alternative fitness activity in place of Tai Chi and ballroom dancing.
Ofiana contacted the group and then coordinated with SM Bicutan. He also asked Unilab to provide the group with free medicine and other perks.
Aside from taking part in walking which is beneficial to one’s health, there is another advantage to being part of the group.
Ofiana and the association’s president, 78-year-old retired medical technologist Perfecto Aguinaldo, refer to this as the “social benefits.”
When Inquirer chanced upon them after their walk, “mall rats” Lorna Serranilla, 63; Erlinda de Jesus, 66; and Amada Buenaobra, 72, were laughing and chatting like old friends.
When asked how long they had known each other, Serranilla announced: “We just met each other here!”
“Instead of staying at home, thinking of problems, we come here and let our problems think about us,” she joked, earning guffaws from her new friends.
Buenaobra added: “I feel more energetic here. When I stay at home, I feel all my ailments, but here, they all go away.”
Aguinaldo urged senior citizens to break out of their routine of “monotony and boredom.”
“You have to be active and help yourself. If you just stay at home watching television and going to sleep, you’ll only get worse,” he said.
The association, which was formed in 1998, organizes health activities for Don Bosco’s elderly. Its members also go on outings and engage in various charity and civic works. The group currently have more than 200 members, Aguinaldo said.