Grant: Project Grant - Priority Announcement: Aging

Most Canadians are spending long parts of their day in seated activities. Adults over the age of 65 years are spending the most time in such activities, in some cases because they have conditions that make movement painful, uncomfortable, or challenging. Importantly, older adults are also not getting enough daily activity. This increases their chances of developing diseases such as cancer and heart disease. In order to help older adults sit less and move more, we will develop a program that slowly progresses individuals from sedentary lifestyles to more active lifestyles. For this research, we first want to know what older adults, exercise and recreation professionals, and healthcare professionals think of this approach, and what elements they would want in such a program. Once we hear from them, we will create the program, and deliver it in a healthcare or community setting. Health and recreation professionals will tell older adults about the program, and they will be signed up for the program. We hope that by helping older adults get started with reducing daily sitting, they will progress to adding more movement into their day. This change is expected to have a great impact on their physical and mental health.