In the United Kingdom, there are physical activity guidelines specifically for older adults. Self-report data indicate that approximately 15% of those achieved 65+ the activity target of 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise on 5 (or more) days a week and 30% when the 150 minutes may be achieved in 10-minute (or greater) bursts. Levels of activity are higher among men, the more affluent, and those aged 65–74 but we have little evidence about levels of activity among the ageing ethnic minority population. Reanalysis of 109 interviews conducted with people aged 50+ from Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities was undertaken to explore how participants talk about physical activity in terms of their daily lives. Few, 13 participants (7 females), reported that physical activity and/or exercise formed part of their daily routine; a further 7 had been advised to take exercise by their doctors but had not done so and 9 described why they could not exercise. Barriers to exercise included lack of time (because of work or childcare) and cultural factors such as ideas about age and gender appropriate behaviour. We need to develop appropriate interventions to encourage exercise which address these cultural factors and general barriers to exercise. 1. Introduction Cassel [1] proposes that physical activity offers the “the best treatment for aging” given the well-established benefits of physical activity for health and well-being across the life course. There is a clear trend evident in public health across both the developed and increasing developing world that exercise and physical activity interventions are adopted as methods of improving the physical health and well-being of the population. In this context, physical activity is broadly defined as bodily movement that results in energy expenditure and which may result from activities undertaken for work and household activities such as cleaning or gardening as well as sporting activities and recreation. In the United Kingdom, guidelines for desirable levels of physical activity have been articulated for the general population; it was only in 2011 that the guidelines for physical activity for older adults (aged 65+) were published [2] and specific advice about physical activity for those at risk of falls was articulated. Initially, the guidance was to undertake 150 minutes in 30 minute bouts over 5 days and is now refined to achieve this in bursts of 10 minutes or more. This inclusion of older adults as a distinct group for whom such guidance is offered represents a “paradigm shift” in terms of the remit of these
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