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The University of Washington is committed to the idea that there's no age limit when it comes to good health.
The UW Health Promotion Research Center (HPRC) in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine is pioneering fitness programs for older adults built on solid science and proven results. One of the center’s hallmark programs, EnhanceFitness, combines a socially stimulating class with exercises that safely enhance strength, endurance, flexibility and balance. The goal is to enrich lives through physical independence — at any age.
A Changing DemographicPhysical activity among seniors can extend years of active independent life, reduce disability, and improve the quality of life for older persons. Yet, despite the well-documented social, physical and mental health benefits of activity, at least 60 percent of adult Americans are not physically active on a regular basis (for more, see State of Aging and Health in America). Physical inactivity is estimated to be responsible for more than 300,000 deaths and $77 billion in direct health care costs each year, according to Dr. Teresa Keenan, Senior Research Advisor for the American Association of Retired Persons.
Though Americans have grown increasingly sedentary, life expectancy has continued to increase, with older adults comprising more of the total population than ever before. In 2003 (the latest year available), the U.S. population included 35.9 million adults aged 65 or older, a figure representing 12 percent of the population. If government projections hold true, by 2030, that number will rise to nearly 71.5 million, or 20 percent of the population.
Improving Futures for Older Adults
In an effort to address the needs of an aging population, the federal government, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, funds 33 prevention research centers nationwide to develop programs that focus on diverse areas of public health, with an emphasis on identifying solutions for vulnerable populations. The UW HPRC is one of two dedicated specifically to healthy aging.
Through rigorous demonstration projects with community partners, the HPRC is working to increase the body of evidence that shows how healthful behaviors, such as exercise and good nutrition, translate into decreased rates of disease and disability. The Center’s participation in The Washington Alliance for Healthy Aging, for example, is helping to raise awareness and disseminate research findings to the general public.
Proven Results
The HPRC’s pioneering EnhanceFitness program, formerly titled the Lifetime Fitness Program, is being implemented in more than 70 sites locally and nationally. Unlike most exercise programs currently offered in health clubs and fitness centers, EnhanceFitness is based on measurable results and backed by research. The program, which presents exercise as a healthy lifestyle choice, is easy to implement, requires minimal resources and can be tailored to the individual needs of participants at all levels of physical fitness. EnhanceFitness, under its original name, was identified in 2003 by the National Council on the Aging as one of the top 10 programs nationwide in physical activity programming for older adults (for more, please see http://depts.washington.edu/hprc/docs/aw_lfpncoa_2003.pdf).
By developing, testing and disseminating programs such as EnhanceFitness, and in cultivating partnerships that create a force for policy change, increased access to health care and prevention programs, the HPRC is improving lives and helping to create vital futures — for older adults and the communities they inhabit.
More about the UW Health Promotion Research Center
Additional Sources:
- “The State of Aging and Health in America,” a 2004 report on aging commissioned by The Merck Institute of Aging & Health , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , and the Gerontological Society of America.
- “The Health Quality of Older Americans; Synthesis of AARP Research in Physical Activity: 1999-2003,” a report by the American Association of Retired Persons.
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