Guest Editorial
Efforts to Promote Physical Activity Must Battle Ageist
Stereotypes
Older adults often experience ageism, the prejudice in
society against people based on their age. American society,
in particular, has been described as holding negative perceptions of aging. Our language, humor, and media readily
use social constructions that depict older adults as sick or
impaired. Catchy clichés, such as the “Silver Tsunami” or
the “Graying of America,” perpetuate ageist stereotypes by
implying that the evolving shift in America’s demographics
will threaten the capacity of our social resources.
Ageism, however, is not universal across cultures. Societies that see death as part of the life cycle, view older
adults as productive members of society, and place less
value on youth have more favorable attitudes toward aging
(Wolfe, 1998). Buettner’s 2008 book describing Blue Zones
highlights the practices of communities in which people
live exceptionally long lives. Older adults in Blue Zone societies are described as having active roles in day-to-day
family functioning and being respected for their wisdom
and long life.
Older adults holding positive age stereotypes have better physical and mental quality of life. Having more positive self-perceptions of aging is associated with higher levels of physical activity and longevity (Levy, Slade, Kunkel,
& Kasl, 2002; Sarkisian, Prohaska, Wong, Hirsch, & Mangione, 2005). Additionally, older adults with more positive expectations of aging are more likely to recover from
disability in activities of daily living than are older adults
with more negative beliefs about older people (Levy, Slade,
Murphy, & Gill, 2012). In fact, subconsciously reinforcing
positive age stereotypes has been shown to improve gait
speed in older adults, an effect that was unrelated to age,
sex, health status, or psychosocial factors (Hausdorff, Levy,
& Wei, 1999).
Conversely, internalized negative societal stereotypes
may erode an older person’s sense of worth. Sarkisian,
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Hays, and Mangione (2002) found that older adults with
lower expectations of aging placed less importance on
seeking health care for common health problems. This
perspective is troublesome because older adults who retreat from the health care system may (a) suffer needlessly
with health problems that can be remedied and (b) miss
opportunities for health promotion counseling. Of particular benefit to older adults is exercise counseling, which
by way of increasing physical activity participation could
prevent or slow the progression of those age-related physical changes that perpetuate negative stereotypes (Barnes &
Schoenborn, 2012).
However, even older adults who do receive regular
health care may undermine providers’ efforts to encourage
active aging if such adults have already bought into ageist
stereotypes. How often have you heard that physical activity is harmful for frail individuals, a sedentary retirement
is the just reward for a lifetime of hard work, longevity is
all basically genetic, or it’s too late for older adults to benefit from exercise? Countering such negative stereotypes
requires positive messaging from health care professionals,
friends, family members, and society at large. In fact, health
care settings provide a venue to combat ageist stereotypes
by highlighting the accomplishments of older people in a
variety of circumstances. To motivate people of all ages to
become active, why not, for example, display a poster of the
100-year-old French cyclist, Robert Marchand, completing
a 1-hour velodrome ride in Switzerland in February 2012?
This could balance merely distributing advertisements for
products that reinforce stereotypical thinking (e.g., emergency call systems, durable medical equipment).
How else can we encourage physical activity among
older adults? Until recently, the majority of research on
physical activity promotion has focused on individuallevel factors. This heavy emphasis on personal responsi-
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Guest Editorial
bility fails to acknowledge social and built environmental
circumstances that influence behavior. Features of the built
environment that disproportionately disadvantage older
adults are inherently ageist. Barriers to physical activity
that older adults have identified include rapid cycling of
street crossing signals, inadequate street lighting, absence
of ramps and curb cut-outs, fast-moving traffic, and lack
of sidewalks or sidewalks in disrepair (Rosenberg, Huang,
Simonovich, & Belza, 2013). Compounding environmental barriers to physical activity are societal practices that
discourage older adults from actively participating in community fitness and recreation programs. Often, exercise
programs are not individualized for older adults (Grant,
2001). Instructors of standard classes may feel an obligation to publicly caution older participants to pace themselves, a practice that not only perpetuates myths of aging
but insults the intended recipients (Cousins, 2005). Finally,
retirement policies based on chronological age and agesegregated retirement communities fuel the myth that older
adults are ready to withdraw from contemporary society
(Cousins, 2005). As a result, when younger and older people do not work, live, or play together, ageism flourishes.
As the number of older adults in industrialized countries expands, organizations serving this population, such
as senior centers, retirement communities, and assisted
living communities, are well positioned to reshape cultural beliefs. The prevailing impression of older adults as
decrepit and withdrawn could be challenged if the majority, rather than the minority, of communities and facilities serving older adults supported and promoted active
aging. Moreover, creating opportunities for participation
in physical activities fosters the mindset that older adults
are vibrant and engaged members of society.
Future physical activity intervention research should
examine the extent to which expectations regarding aging
affect older adults’ interest in and commitment to physical
activity. Interventions that include efforts to enhance the
perception of old age may be useful as a complementary
approach to improve physical activity behavior maintenance. Community-based participatory research may be
an effective strategy to reveal ageist beliefs affecting individual physical activity practices and program planning at
the community level. Finally, exploring specific aspects of
the person-environment interaction could offer important
information about how to design programs and built environments to promote physical activity among older adults.
Research in Gerontological Nursing • Vol. 7, No. 1, 2014
REFERENCES
Barnes, P.M., & Schoenborn, C.A. (2012). Trends in adults receiving
a recommendation for exercise or other physical activity from a
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www2.webster.edu/~woolflm/ageism.html
Lorraine J. Phillips, PhD, RN
Associate Professor
John A. Hartford Foundation Claire M. Fagin Fellow
University of Missouri
Sinclair School of Nursing
Columbia, Missouri
The author has disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial
or otherwise.
doi:10.3928/19404921-20131113-01
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