Cross-promoted from the NCHPAD News: Volume 12, Issue 1

Written by: Carol Kutik, Director of Fitness & Health Promotion at the Lakeshore Foundation

Never! Even if you have had an inactive lifestyle, research suggests that you are never too old to benefit from exercise. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) report that even moderate physical activity can improve the health of older adults who are frail, or who have diseases that accompany age. A substantial number of research studies confirming the many benefits of regular physical activity for older adults helped the U.S. government to report in its 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans that, compared to less active people, more active people have lower rates of all-cause mortality, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, colon cancer, breast cancer, and depression. The Guidelines add that “regular physical activity is essential for healthy aging.” Note the word essential, as opposed to the word suggested.

Despite the known benefits of physical activity, the NIH reports that rates are low among older people. Only about 30 percent of adults between age 45 and 64, 25 percent between age 65 and 74 years, and 11 percent age 85 and older engage in regular physical activity. Physical activity rates for older adults with physical disabilities are even lower. According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding adults age 50 and over, approximately 70 percent of those with disabilities do not participate in recommended amounts of physical activity, as compared to 60 percent of those without disabilities.

As older individuals become less active, they begin to lose their ability to perform standard daily living activities and become discouraged and reluctant to exercise, fearful that it will be too strenuous and cause them harm. All too often, decreased levels of both physical function and independence are accepted as natural consequences of aging, leading older adults to believe that exercise is not “for them” and perpetuating the downward spiral. Research from the NIH shows that the opposite is true – that exercise is safe for people of all age groups, and that older adults hurt their health far more by not exercising than exercising.

The following types of exercise are recommended for seniors who want to stay healthy and independent:

• Strength exercises build muscles and increase metabolism (which helps with weight control). Strength exercises can be performed by using machines, free weights, working with resistance bands, using your own body weight (push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, etc.), heavy gardening, yoga and other methods.
• Endurance exercises improve the ability of your heart and lungs to work efficiently. Any activity that increases heart rate and breathing will help build endurance. Try walking, pushing, swimming, cycling or raking leaves!
• Stretching exercises keep joints and muscles limber, which can give you more freedom of movement. Special attention is important for joints that are particularly tight.
• Balance exercises can help avoid falling, as well as build strength and postural awareness.

The following steps will help guide you in your new exercise routine:

• First, make a commitment to yourself. Keep in mind that research tells us it takes most people 21 days to develop a new habit. Get out your calendar and plan those first 21 days – the rest will follow!
• Start out slowly, especially if you have been inactive for a long time, and set realistic short-term goals. Seek the advice of a fitness professional who is experienced in working with older adults. If you are computer savvy, use the internet to find exercises that you enjoy. Explore NCHPAD’s multitude of exercise programs. Check out EASY (www.easyforyou.info), a website developed to help older adults identify the physical activity programs most suited to their personal needs, preferences, and health conditions.
• Use your own body awareness as your guide. Pay attention to how you feel before, during, and after exercise, and adjust your pace as needed. Keep in mind that it will take you a while to know when it’s just right, but trust me, when you experience that awesome feeling you will be hooked!
• Reward yourself along the way as you reach small goals to keep the habit.

It’s time for a change.

You may remember when being older was associated with frailty and rocking chairs, not new careers and adventure travel. A lot has changed over the past 20 years. Older adults today are looking at services and products to help them live a longer, healthier life. For example, the pharmacist Express Scripts recently revealed that older adults now spend more on products to combat the effects of aging—including mental alertness, sexual dysfunction, menopause, aging skin and hair loss—than they do on drugs to treat chronic disease.

This increased focus on healthy aging is the catalyst for a multitude of new products and services aimed at helping age 50+ adults achieve a better quality of life. Yet, the most effective tool we have does not come in a pill bottle, requires a small investment of time and effort, and is accessible to almost anyone. I am speaking about physical activity.

Research shows that regardless of age, education, and socioeconomic or marital status, you can achieve a significantly higher quality of life if you increase your physical activity levels. Our challenge? Only 21% of men and women ages 25–64 years old meet the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. This percentage declines with age to 14.2% of people ages 65–74 years and 7.7% of those 75 years and older.

So, how do we get adults in their 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and older to achieve at least 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes (1.25 hours) of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity per week? Not to mention the Guidelines’ call for moderate- or high-intensity muscle-strengthening activities involving all major muscle groups on two or more days a week.

Maybe the first step is to “up the ante.”

Discussing seminal studies conducted with frail older adults at Tufts University in the 1990s, exercise science pioneer Dr. Steven Blair stated: “[These studies] show that you take older adults into the weight room and you push them. They don’t die; they double and triple their muscle strength and throw away their walkers.” He added, “If exercise was going to kill people, it would have killed that group.”

So, to reach the Guidelines and achieve significant health improvement benefits, we must challenge older adults to exercise more intensely to become stronger and walk longer. Doing anything less is a disservice to them—and to you. The message we need to absorb is that older people are not automatically fragile.

“It’s a myth that older adults are fragile and cannot exercise,” according to Dr. Blair. “Yes, there are frail individuals. Certainly, as you go up the age spectrum, you have more health issues and potential adverse events, but they are still pretty rare. A facility needs to be aware and have an emergency plan in place.”

 
If we are ever going to help older adults meet the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, we need to look at what we’re doing and change the way we help people get there. 

It is easier in many ways to promote physical activities to middle-aged and older populations for a variety of reasons, but how well will they listen? If the messages are tailored precisely, they will listen very well, it turns out, despite the generation's somewhat skeptical demeanor.

Many seniors are turning attention to themselves after raising their children. Some may turn to physical activity because of medical advice to ward off chronic disease or for weight control. The effects of heart disease, asthma, diabetes, and a host of other conditions are mitigated by regular physical activity.

Others turn to physical activity to fill time or to engage socially with others after children have left home and there's more free time available. Retirement communities often market themselves as "active communities," advertising golf courses, tennis courts, a menu of aerobics, dance, yoga/pilates, and other classes that enable seniors to be physically and socially active at the same time.

Marketing to baby boomers, the World War II generation, and older seniors is good business. The wave of children born after that global conflict has been the major marketing influence at each age as they have moved through adolescence and the childbearing years of adulthood and now into their retirement years. We are only in the first few years of baby boomer retirement so the bulk of those born during those years have yet to receive their first retirement checks. As this generation marches inexorably towards their "golden" years, business marketing will be increasingly focused on tailoring their pitches to attract this cohort.

In a recent review of research by the American Association of Retired Person (AARP) into marketing to seniors, Colin Milner, CEO of the International Council on Active Aging, recommended that those who wish to market programs, services, etc. to the burgeoing seniors market do their homework first.

"[This] valuable research reinforces the need to do your homework before setting out on a communication campaign aimed at the mature market. Learn how to speak the language of older adults. Encourage them to be physically active four or more days per week at moderate intensity, and focus on your low-hanging fruit: the planners and tryers. Your success could depend on it." - Colin Milner

It is human nature to assertively press for individual choices as we age into the second half of our lives. While marketing gurus typically expect us to make economic choices based on how we identify with one sector or another of the consumer population, we humans self-diversify as we age. It becomes much harder for those who would wish to separate us from our dollars to predict accurately what car we'll buy or what beer we might drink based on our friends' choices. We just don't follow the pack the way we once did.

As boomers age, their marketing clout will be felt throughout the economy, and the fitness and wellness sectors won't be left out. Nearly one quarter of all fitness memberships belong to seniors, and more than 40% of hospital wellness center memberships, according to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA). Successful marketing to this generation will become a business imperative for many.

AARP's research drilled down to determine what motivates seniors to engage in physical activity and what obstacles block them from participating. The research found broad differences between those who were retired and those who were not, as well as differences between those who are habitual exercisers already and those who are sedentary. According to Milner, "they found big differences in how specific words were interpeted: Exercise was viewed as hard and difficult while physical activity was not." Neither those who exercise not those who do not equated the words "physical activity" with exercise, which many thought was too hard and difficult.

AARP Triumph Triathlon Series Was Early National Model

In 2002, AARP was worried about the Surgeon General’s declaration that more than 60 percent of all adult Americans were overweight or obese, with the 50+ population representing the most sedentary and obese segment of the adult population. Looking at demographic data stating that 80 million people would turn 50 over the following decade, AARP launched the Triumph Classic, a mini (swim-bike-run) triathlon in cities across the country. The series – a 400-meter swim, 20k bike, and 6.2 mile run - grew from six to 15 races in one year, with support from the National Park Service. The final event featured more than 500 senior triathletes competing in a national championship event in - where else? - sunny Florida.

AARP and USA Triathlon, the national governing body for the sport, joined together to offer an 8 week multisport training program that was included as part of the $30 dollar race entry fee to help seniors prepare for the short triathlon event.  The low cost and the AARP’s enormous potential for marketing the events around the country to its very own members. Triathlon has grown so extensively in the United States since then that nearly every race has its own senior “waves,” and special senior events no longer are needed.

SilverSneakers Success

SilverSneakers is a wildly popular physical activity program marketed by Healthways to various group retiree health plans nationwide or for those eligible for Medicare. Healthways is the largest independent global provider of well-being improvement solutions.

SilverSneakers is a multi-modal program that offers a fitness center membership that may be used at any participating fitness center, including YMCAs.  Program benefits include access to fitnessand conditioning classes, exercise equipment,  and customized classes along with online programs for weight loss, smoking cessation, and stress reduction. Participating health insurance companies include the AARP Medicare Supplement, Human, Kaiser Permanente, Bravo Health, some Blue Cross Blue Shield plans and many others. Silver Sneakers targeted the program to seniors to motivate them to make healthier lifestyle choices to reduce future health care costs.  According to the Silver Sneakers website, members have lowered sedentary behaviors by 70 percent with nearly half reporting physical activity at least two days per week.  With more than 40 major health plans across the country participating in the program, the program reaches more than 2 million people at no cost above usual health insurance premiums.

The AARP Triumph Triathlon Series and the SilverSneakers program are both innovative approaches to heighten physical activity among our aging population. There are countless programs and activities marketed to our seniors, a generally skeptical bunch. By doing your homework first and paying close attention to the words and style of the generational leaders, your marketing campaigns are most likely to resonate with your intended new markets.