Exercise with peer group is the choice of older people

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Older people prefer group exercise with those of their own age, to exercising with younger people or on their own.
According to earlier research, older people prefer to exercise on their own rather than join a group. But there is more to it than this, according to a new study from the University of British Columbia in Canada. They looked at a group of nearly 1,000 adults aged 40 to 91 from the north of England and asked them about their exercise habits and preferences.

Older adults said that exercising with those who were younger was not appealing. But they preferred the idea of exercise with those of the same age group to exercise on their own. Exercise is very important at all ages for protecting mental and physical health. But people will only do exercise they enjoy and that is easily accessible. Therefore, those charged with provision of facilities in the community might take these findings as an opportunity of setting up more group exercise facilities - keep-fit classes, group walks or bike rides - within their communities.

Source
Annals of Behavioral Medicine April 2007

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