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NEWS RELEASE
INITIATIVES TO PROMOTE ACTIVE AND HEALTHY AGING EXAMINED RECENTLY
DURING NATIONAL MEETING IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
American College of Sports Medicine and University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign promoting policy and public health initiatives for
activity among older adults
INDIANAPOLIS - One year after The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)
awarded a landmark grant to examine how physical activity can extend
years of active, independent life, reduce disability and improve the
quality of life for older adults, the American College of Sports
Medicine and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign hosted the
second in a series of national meetings in October in Washington, D.C.
to build coalitions and implement initiatives to inspire older adults to
become more physically active.
Recognizing that scientific and clinical evidence has increasingly
demonstrated that regular physical activity is essential to health and
can prevent and help with the management of many diseases, the RWJF
grant supports The National Blueprint Increasing Physical Activity Among
Adults Aged 50 and Older, created by a national panel of aging experts
and associations. The panel included experts from AARP, ACSM, the
American Geriatrics Society (AGS), the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and RWJF. The
principal investigator and co-principal investigator of the grant are
Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko, Ph.D., FACSM and Jane G. Senior, ACSM research
director.
Among potential solutions that must be developed to increase physical
activity in older adults, the Blueprint advises organizing
activity-friendly communities, workplace opportunities and related
physical activity initiatives, and healthcare systems to provide access
to physical activity information, resources and counseling to older
consumers. Outcomes from the meeting emphasize plans to build
sustainability for the Blueprint project by committing to partnerships
among mission-related organizations, developing strategies in medical
systems, research institutions, home and community settings, as well as
public policy and marketing to increase physical activity patterns in
adults ages 50-plus.
According to Chodzko-Zajko, a leading aging expert, this meeting is
part of a major national campaign to bring awareness of the benefits of
physical activity in the older adult community.
Physical activity as part of a healthy lifestyle can help improve
quality of life and reduce healthcare costs. Aging individuals stand to
gain significant health benefits through exercise, as substantial
scientific studies have shown that physical activity can reduce the risk
of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and cholesterol, type II
diabetes and obesity, all leading causes of death. Strength training is
important for the older adult, as increasing muscle strength leads to
better balance, reducing the risk of falling and fracturing bones. The
good news for older adults who do not regularly exercise is that it's
never too late to start. (See the ACSM Position Stand "Exercise and the
Older Adult," online at http://www.acsm-msse.org.)
Aging experts attending the national meeting included Wojtek
Chodzko-Zajko, Ph.D., FACSM, Robin Mockenhaupt, Ph.D., Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation, and David Buchner, M.D., Ph.D., FACSM Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
For more information on the Blueprint, please see
http://www.agingblueprint.org
The American College of Sports Medicine is the largest sports
medicine and exercise science organization in the world. More than
18,000 International, National and Regional members are dedicated to
promoting and integrating scientific research, education and practical
applications of sports medicine and exercise science to maintain and
enhance physical performance, fitness, health and quality of life.
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