Physical Activity Interventions Among Older Adults: Health and Functional Outcomes
A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Exercise and Health-Related Quality of Life".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 June 2025 | Viewed by 1142
Special Issue Editors
2. Department of Medicine, College of Medicine-Chattanooga, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
Interests: physical activity epidemiology; NCD prevention; physical activity interventions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: medical anthropology; health promotion and practice; health, rehab, and disabilities; cross-cultural gerontology; social behavioral research methodology; healing traditions/Chinese medicine; culture and mental health; health beliefs and healthcare behaviors; Asian American studies
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The world’s aging (65 years and older) population is growing exponentially across the globe, in low-, middle-, and high-income countries alike. Today, there are over 703 million people aged 65 or older living in this world, with this number projected to reach 1.5 billion by 2050 (United Nations, 2019). Rapid urbanization, especially among low-to-middle-income countries, accompanied by an epidemiologic transition from a predominant infectious disease burden to an increasingly non-communicable disease (NCD) burden in terms of both morbidity and mortality has underscored the need for lifestyle interventions to ensure proper health and function among older adults. One of the negative effects of urbanization has been the ‘engineering out’ of daily regular physical activity, especially among older adults. The effects of an inactive lifestyle among older adults have resulted in higher rates of NCDs, along with declines in functional and mental health. The current body of global evidence demonstrates that regular physical activity across the lifecycle provides not only protection against many NCDs (e.g., coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, selected cancers, obesity, etc.) but also enhances functional health, mental health, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Presently, there is an acute need to systematically identify effective physical activity intervention strategies at the clinical and community level that address the health-promoting components of physical activity among older adults, which includes cardiorespiratory, strength, flexibility, balance, and HRQOL benefits. However, such intervention strategies need to be more fully integrated into health promotion and community planning policies, along with comprehensive and sociocultural relevant approaches that are better aligned with the needs of older residents. Such a physical activity health promotion approach among older adults can be supported by more rigorous and applied research methods, such as prospective longitudinal designs, randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses, use of innovative technologies (e.g., wearables, sensors, and community assessments), and qualitative research techniques, including interviews, focus groups, and observation. The application of these methods and technologies should include studies among more diverse groups of older adults, including clinical populations, low-resource communities, and older adults with disabilities. Manuscripts addressing these topics are invited to be submitted to this Special Issue, especially those combining investigative rigor with a practical focus on providing optimal physical activity and public health solutions among older adults.
Prof. Dr. Gregory W. Heath
Prof. Dr. Zibin Guo
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- physical activity
- aging
- public health
- community interventions
- clinical interventions
- mental health
- health-related quality of life
- functional independence
- disability
- non-communicable diseases
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