Active Ageing Communities

Background Europe will be “turning increasingly grey” in the coming decades: by 2060 an estimated one third of the EU population will be over 65. Unfortunately, this trend also joins with high levels of sedentary behaviour and physical inactivity, which is considered the fourth biggest killer in the world and is the main cause of non-communicable diseases. It is therefore crucial to highlight the importance of regular physical activity to counteract accelerated ageing. Objectives Active Ageing Communities (AAC) was a 2-year project (2021-2022) co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Commission and coordinated by EuropeActive (BE), which aimed at creating communities for active older people in fitness and recreational sport environments. Through a multi-layered programme, the ambition was to engage 500 inactive older adults from 6 EU countries in long-term sustainable healthy lifestyles, while reducing their levels of social isolation. Implementation Designed by experts from the University of Southern Denmark, the AAC programme was implemented by 6 National Fitness Associations in 18 fitness centres in Czechia, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Italy and Portugal. It successfully involved 556 older people in a 24-week mix of interventions combining modules on educational awareness, social inclusion, exercise, and behavioural change. The whole process was evaluated through data collection, questionnaires, interviews, and a qualitative analysis. Achievements The AAC programme significantly improved the older adults’ overall health, physiological capacity and physical function (including gait speed, chair rise, balance, body composition, weight, aerobic capacity), behavioural outcomes (daily physical activity) and social components (loneliness). It empowered them to establish long-term sustainable active lifestyles. It had an impressive retention rate of 91%, and was scored very positively by the 556 participants: 4,76 out of 5.