Blueprint Partners Progress Newsletter: April 2005

April 2005

In this Issue:
Walking Conference Scheduled for October
NCOA Develops Tookit for Physicians
Life Expectancy for Americans Hits All-Time High
Researcher Questions Life Expectancy Estimates
AGS Website: Aging in the Know for Older Adults
Culture-Specific Exercise Motivates Older Women
Health Club Growth Reported
Calendar of Events: June-August

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Walking Conference Scheduled for October
The American College of Sports Medicine and the University of Illinois will host Walking for Health: Measurement and Research Issues and Challenges, October 13-15, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus. Conference participants will delve into the latest multidisciplinary views on walking and health research and practice, address critical measurement and research challenges in health research, and discuss the latest research programs in walking.
Registration information is available on the ACSM website.

NCOA Develops Toolkit for Physicians
National Council on the Aging and the Merck Institute on Aging and Health developed a toolkit to help educate physicians about the services provided by community-based organizations. Since primary care physicians rarely have the resources to assist older adults with self-management of chronic illnesses, they need to partner with organizations that support good chronic care, such as senior centers, day service centers, social service organizations, housing programs, and faith-based organizations. Some of the services that these organizations provide include physical activity classes, support groups, in-home services, and case management.
The toolkit, MD Link, is available.

Life Expectancy for Americans Hits All-Time High
Life expectancy rose from 77.3 years in 2002 to 77.6 years in 2003, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, the gap between male and female life expectancy has narrowed slightly, from 5.4 years in 2002 to 5.3 years in 2003. Death rates for the two leading causes of death—heart disease and cancer—declined 3.6 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively.
National Center for Health Statistics Information:
www.cdc.gov

Researcher Questions Life Expectancy Estimates
S. Jay Olshansky at the University of Illinois at Chicago hypothesizes that the trend of increasing life expectancy will reverse and actually decline by two to five years in the 21st century due to obesity and related diseases. Obesity has shown to have a negative effect on longevity; severely obese individuals are predicted to have a reduced lifespan of five to 20 years. The author predicted that youth of today may live less healthy and potentially shorter lives on average than their parents unless interventions are developed to decrease obesity rates. This article was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in the March 17, 2005 issue.

AGS Website: Aging in the Know for Older Adults
A new website, “Aging in the Know: Your Gateway to Health and Aging Resources on the Web” offers consumers information on common diseases and disorders in aging, what to ask your healthcare provider, assistance with healthcare choices, basic information on aging and health, and research summaries from the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. The website was produced by the American Geriatrics Society Foundation for Health in Aging.

Culture-Specific Exercise Motivates Older Women
Exercise programs that are culture-sensitive increase participant adherence to physical activity programs, according to a pilot study by researchers at the University of California San Francisco School of Nursing. Although most exercise programs for women with coronary heart disease have high drop-out rates, a 12-week Tai Chi program for older Chinese women who had one risk factor for heart disease ended with 96 percent of participants and a waiting list of others hoping to join.
www.americanheart.org

Health Club Growth Reported
One quarter of the nation’s 41.3 million health club members are age 55+, according to a new study by American Sports Data, Inc. From 1998 to 2004, the number of frequent health club users over age 55 increased by 33 percent, compared with only 13 percent growth rate for people aged 35-54, and zero growth for the traditional health club participant, age 18-34.
www.americansportsdata.com

Calendar of Events: June-August
American College of Sports Medicine 52nd Annual Meeting
June 1-4; Nashville, TN

2005 Senior Olympic Games
June 3-18; Pittsburg, PA

American Physical Therapy Association Conference
June 8-11; Boston, MA

American Diabetes Association 65th Scientific Sessions
June 10-14; San Diego, CA

20th National Conference for Nurse Practitioners
June 17-21; Fort Lauderdale, FL

N4A 30th Annual Conference: Boomers in Transition
July 9-13; Bellevue, WA

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The Blueprint Partners Project is an initiative of the Active Aging Partnership. For more information, contact the Blueprint Partnership Office at the University of Illinois Department of Kinesiology.
Website: www.agingblueprint.org