Healthy Ageing and Regular Exercise

Ageing is an unprecedented international public health challenge. Studies show physically active older adults demonstrate individual benefits in terms of physical, cognitive function, intrinsic capacity, mobility and lower incidence of musculoskeletal pain, risk of falls and fractures, depression and quality of life and compression of disability. Older adults with physically inactive lifestyles are found to be associated with illnesses, increased risk of premature all-cause mortality, and the respective conditions include metabolic dysfunction, cardiovascular diseases, some types of cancer and sarcopenia. In response to ageing health problems, there are substantial studies to support the prevailing rationale of “Exercise is Medicine”. An increasing number of studies are emerging to support and advocate regular exercise participation being a cost-effective, accessible, low and close to zero entrance requirement of health intervention, and most importantly exercise is non-invasive in nature. This chapter takes an initiative to examine the potential benefits of regular exercise for healthy ageing, and further investigate how personal, environmental, social and policy factors will shape the active and healthy ageing development. Effective behavioural change interventions in physical activity will be proposed to promote and facilitate healthy and sustainable ageing with dignity.