Worldwide, the number as well as the proportion of older adults, are rapidly increasing. Future projections demonstrate that the number of people aged 65 years and older will double so approximately one third of the European population will consist of older adults in 2050. An increasing proportion of this group also lives longer independently even with (complex) health problems. The aging process demonstrates different patterns and varies between individuals with consequently a variety of potential health hazards with major physical, social and mental impact. So, on population level, the aging population as well as in numbers, results in a higher overall societal burden, an unsustainable rise in health care costs, and shortage in health care employees needed to meet the future demand for care. To change this for the better, more focus and attention and innovation of prevention should be pursued since current interventions do not demonstrate being a game changer for health in community-dwelling older adults.
Generally older adults are less physically activity while sufficient levels can be beneficial physically, mentally and socially. Stimulation of a healthy lifestyle and especially an active lifestyle is much promoted to keep up vitality and postpone frailty and so compressing the period of unhealthy years at the end of the lifespan.
To tackle this societal challenge of promoting an active lifestyle, updated and new public health approaches will be needed encompassing the entire prevention spectrum from broad universal to more selective tailored forms of prevention for the community-dwelling older adults. Considering that, a way forward is a broader use of ecological models which focus on the interaction between people and their environmental contexts. Also, new ways to actively engage older adults should be developed to make interventions work and ultimately achieve impact on a community wide scale. Finally, the older adults of today, are partially grown up in the technology era which offers many new promising opportunities for prevention. But how should technology be integrated, supported and implemented in prevention initiatives for older adults?
In this Research Topic, we focus on the universal and selective levels of the prevention spectrum related to active and healthy lifestyle (physically, mentally and socially) promotion in community dwelling older adults. Challenges that are put central against the described background are the following:
1. Public Health Policy and Active Lifestyle Promotion for community dwelling older adults: future challenges?
2. Universal prevention through promotion of an active lifestyle in older adults: how and what to do?
3. Environment and an active and healthy lifestyle for older adults.
4. How to engage community dwelling older adults in active lifestyle (rapid review)?
5. How to tackle active lifestyle and health inequity in older adults?
6. Use of technology to support an active and healthy lifestyle in community dwelling older adults.
7. Editorial (Synthesis by the Topic Editors)
Worldwide, the number as well as the proportion of older adults, are rapidly increasing. Future projections demonstrate that the number of people aged 65 years and older will double so approximately one third of the European population will consist of older adults in 2050. An increasing proportion of this group also lives longer independently even with (complex) health problems. The aging process demonstrates different patterns and varies between individuals with consequently a variety of potential health hazards with major physical, social and mental impact. So, on population level, the aging population as well as in numbers, results in a higher overall societal burden, an unsustainable rise in health care costs, and shortage in health care employees needed to meet the future demand for care. To change this for the better, more focus and attention and innovation of prevention should be pursued since current interventions do not demonstrate being a game changer for health in community-dwelling older adults.
Generally older adults are less physically activity while sufficient levels can be beneficial physically, mentally and socially. Stimulation of a healthy lifestyle and especially an active lifestyle is much promoted to keep up vitality and postpone frailty and so compressing the period of unhealthy years at the end of the lifespan.
To tackle this societal challenge of promoting an active lifestyle, updated and new public health approaches will be needed encompassing the entire prevention spectrum from broad universal to more selective tailored forms of prevention for the community-dwelling older adults. Considering that, a way forward is a broader use of ecological models which focus on the interaction between people and their environmental contexts. Also, new ways to actively engage older adults should be developed to make interventions work and ultimately achieve impact on a community wide scale. Finally, the older adults of today, are partially grown up in the technology era which offers many new promising opportunities for prevention. But how should technology be integrated, supported and implemented in prevention initiatives for older adults?
In this Research Topic, we focus on the universal and selective levels of the prevention spectrum related to active and healthy lifestyle (physically, mentally and socially) promotion in community dwelling older adults. Challenges that are put central against the described background are the following:
1. Public Health Policy and Active Lifestyle Promotion for community dwelling older adults: future challenges?
2. Universal prevention through promotion of an active lifestyle in older adults: how and what to do?
3. Environment and an active and healthy lifestyle for older adults.
4. How to engage community dwelling older adults in active lifestyle (rapid review)?
5. How to tackle active lifestyle and health inequity in older adults?
6. Use of technology to support an active and healthy lifestyle in community dwelling older adults.
7. Editorial (Synthesis by the Topic Editors)