Promoting Physical Activity and Health in Ageing
Start date: Jan 1, 2015,
End date: Sep 30, 2016
PROJECT
FINISHED
As EHFA highlighted in the report from its Preparatory Action in the Field of Sport project “Becoming the Hub” (Agreement number 2009-11909), generally physical activity promotion through policies and campaigns has not been successful in achieving measurably higher levels of physical activity and exercise. The 2014 Eurobarometer report has confirmed that despite many millions of Euros being spent in promoting more participation in sport and physical activity there has been no increase in the past 4 years.The EHFA research suggests that one of the principal barriers to participation has been the lack of valid measurement. This is particularly true of physical activity campaigns which have included a range of sometimes unplanned, play or lifestyle activities which cannot be assessed and lack the capture of the basic information needed to establish how effective they are. A principle recommendation from the HUB report was that campaigns and policies promoting greater participation in physical activity should set specific objectives, target specific issues or demographics of the population, adopt an integrated approach, and evaluate success against the original objective.As the Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing says “In Europe the number of people aged 65+ will almost double over the next 50 years from 85 million in 2008 to 151 million in 2060. While increased longevity is a great achievement, it is also a formidable challenge for both public and private budgets.” The development of tailored interventions should be extended to older adults, who often no longer take part in sport and instead rely on “lifestyle” activities. This project supports the EU Guidelines on Physical Activity recommendations 35 - 37 which are specific in the area of active ageing to show how supervised, structured exercise programming for older adults can help to convert currently inactive people to become regular exercisers at a level that is beneficial to their health.
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