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Effort Needed To Help Seniors Get Active
NEW
YORK (Reuters Health) - Americans aged 50 and older need to get
moving, but they can't do it on their own, according to a report
released Tuesday by several groups dedicated to health and aging.
``You can
bombard people with all the ads and devices you want, but if they
do not have sidewalks to walk on, positive reinforcement from
healthcare providers, or time in their busy days for physical
activity, they will not commit to an active lifestyle,'' Dr. J.
Michael McGinnis of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation said in
a prepared statement.
The foundation
helped develop ``National Blueprint: Increasing Physical Activity
Among Adults Aged 50 and Older,'' which contains a series of recommendations
on how communities, employers, healthcare providers and government
can encourage America's seniors to exercise and overcome barriers
that keep them from becoming active.
Other contributors
include the American Association of Retired Persons, the American
College of Sports Medicine, the American Geriatrics Society, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National
Institute on Aging (NIA).
About one
third of people aged 50 and older are sedentary, according to
the CDC. Among people older than 75 years, 33% of men and 50%
of women do not participate in leisure-time physical activity.
The NIA notes that 10% of the population is currently 65 and older,
a proportion that will nearly double by 2030.
The report
lists a number of recommendations, including tax incentives to
companies that provide employees with opportunities for exercise;
better training for doctors and other health professionals on
physical activity in older people; and studies to find the US
communities that are most ''activity-friendly'' and identify their
impact on the health of their older residents. The report also
calls for incentives for communities and towns that increase physical
activity among their older residents.
``There are
many things that individuals can do to be physically active, but
most of all it is important to choose activities that one enjoys,
such as walking, gardening, bicycling or swimming, and doing them
regularly, several days a week,'' CDC Director Dr. Jeffrey P.
Koplan said in a written statement accompanying the report's release.
Reference
Source 89
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