Blueprint Partners Progress Newsletter: August 2006

In This Issue

New NCOA Issue Brief: Motivation
Survey of Boomers Turning 60
CDC Launches New Women’s Health Website
Two Physical Activity Programs Found Effective in Research Study
Most Popular Extreme Sports
Downloadable Presentations from NCOA
Save the Date for a National Leadership Summit

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New NCOA Issue Brief
Motivating Participants to Be More Physically Active is the fifth issue brief in the series promoting best practice physical activity programming for older adults. This brief discusses the negative impact of biases and stereotypes created by the media and social norms and personal perceptions about aging that influence motivation to be active.

Survey of Boomers Turning 60
On behalf of AARP, International Communication Research asked 800 adults born in 1946 about their personal goals for the next few years, expectations about their life spans, and the perfect birthday gift. Among the findings included:
• A majority (77%) remain substantially satisfied with their lives and are optimistic for an even better future.
• Sixty-year-olds who are currently working are more likely to be satisfied with their lives than their counterparts who are not working (81% vs. 60%).
• When asked if anything is keeping them from getting what they want from life, only 1 percent said their age stood in their way.
• Only 9 percent expected to live past age 100, and 13 percent expected to live into their 90s.
• Nearly all plan to make some changes in their lives in the next five years. These changes include spending more time with loved ones (80%), taking better care of physical health (87%), spending more time on interests and hobbies (72%), and doing what they always wanted to do (71%).
www.aarp.org

CDC Launches New Women’s Health Website
Visit the new website for science and research news, healthy living tips, CDC programs and partnerships information, facts and stats, and publications.
www.cdc.gov

Two Physical Activity Programs Found Effective in Research Study
Active Choices, a six-month, telephone-based program, and Active Living Everyday, a 20-week, group-based physical activity program were shown to be effective interventions for diverse populations of older adults in a recent study published in the American Journal of Public Health. Both programs emphasize behavioral skills. At the end of the intervention, participants showed statistically significant increases in physical activity, decreases in depressive symptoms and stress, increases in satisfaction with body appearance and function, and decreases in body mass index.
American Journal of Public Health, July 2006, Vol. 96, No. 7, 1201-1209

Most Popular Extreme Sports
The top 10 extreme sports in the U.S., according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, are, in order of popularity:
1) Inline skating
2) Skateboarding
3) Paintball
4) Artificial wall climbing
5) Snowboarding
6) Mountain biking
7) Trail running
8) Wakeboarding
9) BMX bicycling
10) Mountain/rock climbing

Downloadable Presentations from NCOA
The following past presentations related to physical activity can be downloaded from this NCOA site:www.ncoa.org
• Evidence-Based Health Promotion Programming: The Basics
• Fall Prevention: New Initiatives and Programs
• Falls: Managing Concerns with the “A Matter of Balance” Program
• Physical Activity Participation: Removing Barriers
• Prescription for Physical Activity
• Safe Steps: A Falls Prevention Program for Seniors

Save the Date for a National Leadership Summit
On Dec. 5-6, 2006, the Administration on Aging will host the Choices for Independence 2006 National Leadership Summit at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C. Participants will discuss practices for providing home and community-based services and facilitating consumer-directed care strategies. For more information, visit AoA’s website at www.aoa.gov

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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 and Community Health.
Website: www.agingblueprint.org