Articles
The Journal on Active Aging brings articles of value to professionals dedicated to older-adult quality of life. Content sweeps across the active-aging landscape to focus on education and practice. Find articles of interest by searching the article archives in three ways: Enter a keyword in the articles search bar; click on search by topic; or type a keyword or phrase in the general search bar at the top of the page.
Topic- Program design
Teaching Kitchen alchemy by Sandy Todd Webster
Teaching Kitchens (TKs) across an array of settings have gained momentum, efficiently delivering wellness education to people of all ages. If you haven't considered TKs to boost connection and improve health outcomes and quality of life among community members, there are compelling reasons to do so. The TK genie can transform your community's wellness--one recipe and one holistic health connection at a time.
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Pickleball: Participation, passion and fractures on the rise by Marilynn Larkin, MA
Pickleball has taken the United States and the world by storm. In the US alone, participation increased 52% between 2022 and 2023, to 13.6 million players. What's more, players ages 55 and up were the largest age bracket of pickleball players in 2021. Increasingly, pickleball is a "must-have" amenity in communities and community centers serving active agers. So, too, are trainers and coaches to help individuals play safely.
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Enhancing functional activities of daily living in a stroke survivor by Lourdes Escobar Torres, MD; Mary E Sanders, PhD, FACSM, CDCES, ACSM-CEP; Charo Belenguer Benitez; and Agustin Melendez Ortega, P
A stroke at age 40 left Celia severely disabled. With physical therapy delayed in the optimal recovery period, the likelihood of her regaining independence seemed poor. Her responses to an aquatic exercise intervention show that, even after this period, it's possible for individuals to improve their function significantly over time with community-based exercise. Celia's results offer hope for stroke survivors and encouragement for those who support their health and wellness.
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Health matters to older adults: Recommendations, considerations and advice by Mary E. Sanders, PhD, FACSM, and James A. Peterson, PhD, FACSM
Human aging, the process of growing up and growing older, refers to the physiological changes that individuals experience over the course of their lifespan. Why these inevitable changes occur has seemingly been debated since time eternal. Currently, more than 300 theories attempt to identify why a person's cells, tissues and organs don't last forever. Each of these efforts tries to explain why the fundamental structures of a cell decline over time. Arguably, however, more important than ascertaining why human cells don't last forever are how they decline and what can be done to slow the process. With regard to "how" cells age, no consensus exists, even though a number of theories have attempted to address this matter. One area in which a noteworthy level of agreement can be found is the issue of whether something can be done to impede the pace of the physiological decline typically associated with aging. In fact, actions can be undertaken to obstruct this downturn. Many of these steps are lifestyle-related, plausibly none more consequential than exercise. ... Based on consensus guidelines developed by a working group of world-renowned experts on aging and exercise--the task force of the International Conference of Frailty and Sarcopenia Research (ICFSR), this article not only provides exercise recommendations for older adults, but also offers a review of the role of physical activity in addressing several health-related concerns that older adults often have.
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Delaying Parkinson's with regular exercise by Jackie Russell, RN, BSN, CNOR
Probably the best-known person living today with Parkinson's disease is actor, advocate and author Michael J. Fox. Diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson's at age 29 in 1991, he retired from acting in 2000, the same year he launched The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. While the foundation has transformed the Parkinson's landscape over the past two decades, Fox has inspired people with his return to acting, his activism and his best-selling books. In his new publication, No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality, the 59-year-old announces plans to retire again from acting due this time to declining health. But he also writes about the years after his first retirement, during which he worked with a movement disorder specialist who focused on nutrition, physical therapy and fitness. That time, he says, was "restorative, less stressful," enabling him "to get a better grip on the disease." Diagnosed typically in older people, Parkinson's is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, a disorder characterized by "loss of neurons [nerve cells] in the central nervous system, which leads to deficits in specific brain functions.".... What causes Parkinson"s remains largely unknown. There is no cure. Symptomatic treatment options include medications, surgical therapy, lifestyle modifications and physical activity.
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Preventing falls: Interventions to reduce fall risk by Mike Siemens, MS
In our youth, we walk, run, jump and skip effortlessly. Navigating stairs, obstacles and slippery surfaces are a welcome challenge. Our brain, nervous system and muscles work in remarkable harmony to guide us safely through almost any terrain we choose to conquer. As we age, a constellation of factors conspire to challenge our balance and coordination. Simply put, if we want to remain confident on our feet and do our best to avoid falls, training, practice and attention to factors that impact balance are necessary after age 50. ... [A] great deal of research has been done in the area of fall prevention and many effective strategies identified...that are proven to be effective in reducing falls by up to 67%. As health, wellness and active-aging communities, it is imperative to communicate these strategies to the general public, so we can reduce the significant impact falls have on quality of life. Let’s take a closer look at these strategies.
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