Physical Activity Programs Promoting Health, Families, and Community Among Elders: An Exploratory Study

Aspects of successful aging have become common media messages as older adults make up a greater proportion of national populations. These senior s typically know the dangers of smoking, poor diet, obesity, and high blood pressure but often lack motivation to make appropriate life style changes. Motivating and empowering older people to be active and healthy, even with support from family and community, is a challenge. Seniors in Motion (SIM), a non-profit fitness facility, was established in 2003 in Denton, Texas, U. S. A. to implement an intervention program encompassing physical fitness, education, and family and community support. Building on results of a feasibility study conducted in 2007-2008, SIM participants were given the opportunity to sign up for ongoing research designed to assess individual progress and program effectiveness. Since September 2009, over 300 volunteers have completed one or more of the following: initial assessment, Senior Fitness test, completed World Health Organization’s Quality of Life survey, and other follow-up reassessments. Comparisons of muscle strength, joint flexibility, gait performance and body composition have been made over at least a 6-month period for almost all participants. Most indicators measuring muscle strength and flexibility showed significant improvement. Most seniors reported an increased in the time they devoted to several different types of exercise, activities in and related to the home, while reducing the time devoted to sedentary activities. Most seniors reported a more active and higher quality of life and less sedentary lifestyle than at the initial assessments. Beyond making people stronger and more flexible an unanticipated bonus was the spirit of kinship and community that grew out of the seniors continuing participation. The opportunity to engage in meaningful social contact provided many a most powerful antidote in the battle against health problems and their frequent companion loneliness.