Healthy Aging

Contemporary approaches to healthy living, with an increasing attentiveness to social determinants of health and the Vital Conditions for Health and Well-Being, hold potential — even real promise — to provide us with longer and greater-quality lives, especially through our later years. Focusing and sustaining meaningful action in support of that potential — that promise — requires a broader perspective on healthy aging and an open and inclusive conversation on the subject.

Physical activity can be especially important for older adults because it can improve daily quality of life, physical function, and the ability to perform activities of daily living. Despite the many benefits, less than 14 percent of adults age 65 years and older met the recommendations for aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity in 2018. To increase the number of older adults engaging in physical activity across the 5 counties it serves, Active Southern West Virginia (Active SWV) returned to ODPHP’s Move Your Way pilot program.