Healthy Ageing: physical activity in an ageing society

Progress on improving healthy life expectancy in England has stalled and people are spending longer living with ill health in their older years. Physical activity can help prevent ill health, but activity levels in England are decreasing and are lowest among older people. A small increase in activity by an older person can be substantially beneficial in improving health and reducing or delaying the development of multiple long-term health conditions.  

This inquiry from the Health and Social care commitee focuses on the ways that physical activity can prevent and reduce ill health, pushing it further into older age. The Committee also explores how increasing physical activity levels could have an impact on reducing the gap in healthy life expectancy between older people in the most and least deprived regions.

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