Active Living

Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS)

Funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada, CAAWS recently developed Physical Activity and Women Aged 55 to 70 a four-year project (September 2005 – August 2009) which focuses on increasing physical activity opportunities for women (ages 55 – 70) with the following objectives:

To identify barriers to physical activity for women (ages 55 – 70).
To identify solutions and best practices for increasing physical activity for women (ages 55 – 70).
To develop resources for multi-sectoral practitioners and women (ages 55 – 70) that will assist in increasing physical activity levels in older women.
To increase awareness around the importance of physical activity for women (ages 55 – 70) among multi-sectoral stakeholders on a national basis.
To evaluate the current and future impacts of the project in increasing physical activity opportunities for women (ages 55 – 70).

A LITTLE MOTIVATION…

• 91% of women aged 65-74 will suffer from a chronic health condition such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, osteoporosis, arthritis, stroke, breast and colon cancer.
• Physical activity in earlier years can help to prevent or reduce the occurance and severity of these chronic health conditions.
• Women of the ages 55-70 are in a critical period of their lives where physical activity can be used to ensure we enter our senior years as healthy and fit as possible

BEING ACTIVE IS EASY!

• Being active doesn’t have to mean joining a sports team or a running club, it can be as simple as going for a daily walk or taking the stairs instead of an elevator
• In fact, the top 5 physical activity choices by adults are: bicycling, walking, gradening, swimming and yard work

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

• Ask your city recreation services for a leisure services schedule or ask about any special programming for women 55-70
• Invite a friend, family member or neighbor to join you on a walk
• Take your pet for a walk or call the SPCA and offer to walk a dog for them
• Volunteer at a community garden or landscape and plant your own yard as a summer project
• Take the family out for a day hike

GO HAVE FUN…
There is more to physical activity than preventing chronic diseases, its mentally and physically invigorating, it relieves stress and physical activity can be FUN! Pick an activity that you enjoy, invite a friend to join you and celebrate living an active lifestyle

For more information about CAAWS (Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Acitivty) check out their website at CAAWS Website

For more information about the CAAWS initiative Physical Activity and Women 55-70 visit the project website and take a look at the Tools and Resources developed for this age group