Active Living Program News
Active Living Every Day Featured in CDC Physical Activity Program Reference Guide
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Reference Guide of Physical Activity Programs for Older Adults: A Resource for Planning Intervention includes Active Living Every Day as a program that may help to preserve physical function in older adults. Unlike several of the other programs listed, Active Living Every Day has documented research to support its effectiveness with sedentary older adults in community settings.
While inclusion in the CDC reference guide does not suggest CDC endorsement of programs, the panel of experts who compiled the program list intends the guide to be used in selecting suitable programs. The recommendations could be particularly helpful for the Diabetes Prevention and Control Programs in each of the 50 states. Diabetes complications can be severe in older adults, and physical activity may be one of the few lifestyle activities that can delay or prevent type 2 diabetes in older adults. In the foreword to the guide, the authors state the following:
“Active Living should be a goal for all older adults, even those with uncomplicated diabetes…this type of training may help prevent physical disability and aid in preserving physical function. PA (physical activity) is also linked to the prevention or delay of many chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and colon and breast cancer. Hence, offering programs to promote PA to older adults, with or without diabetes, may help to prevent type 2 diabetes and its complications. It is our hope that this listing of programs will further achieve this aim.”
Active Living Every Day research confirms its effectiveness in promoting healthy behaviors in older adults. The CDC funded a randomized trial analyzing the program’s appropriateness for older adults with arthritis and found that it was useful and safe (Preventing Chronic Disease July 2007). The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Active for Life studies over a four-year period also indicate that older adults significantly increased their daily physical activity habits after completing the program (American Journal of Public Health July 2006).
For more information about Active Living Every Day or to request copies of the research articles that document the program’s effectiveness, please contact Bhibha Das at 800-747-4457 or e-mail bhibhad@hkusa.com. You can also learn more at www.ActiveLiving.info.
For details about obtaining a copy of the CDC’s Reference Guide, visit www.cdc.gov/diabetes.
Sources
Callahan, Leigh F., et al. July 2007. Modifications to the Active Living Every Day (ALED) course for adults with arthritis. Preventing Chronic Disease Vol 4, No 3.
Moran, S.A., Caspersen, C.J., Thomas, G.D., Brown, D.R. and the Diabetes and Aging Work Group (DAWG). 2007. Reference guide of physical activity programs for older adults: A resource for planning interventions. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Chronic Disease and Health Promotion, Division of Diabetes Translation and Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity.
Wilcox, Sara, et al. July 2006. Results of the first year of Active for Life: Translation of two evidence-based physical activity programs for older adults into community settings. American Journal of Public Health Vol 96, No 7.
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