Abstract
The promotion of physical activity for older people is dominated by biomedically informed polices emphasizing the prescription of exercise as medicine and a universal approach to the promotion of active aging in later life. Yet, more recent research recognizes that being physically active in later life is complex and contested, shaped by the intersections of biological, psychological, and sociological experiences, and requires differentiated responses that address this complexity. There is a disconnect between research, policy, and the physical activity experiences of older people which leads to over-generalized policy and practice in the promotion and delivery of community sport to older people. This paper presents findings from a complex community sport project employing a coproduction framework with low income older age people. Participatory community approaches including focus group discussions, and extended observations and informal conversations throughout the project develop understanding of the complexities of aging and community sport engagement among older people with limited income. Three themes are identified and discussed: (1) lived experience, aging bodies, and the changing dynamics of involvement in sport and exercise in the life course, (2) embodying aging—moving beyond practical barriers for understanding aging, lived experience and being physically active, and (3) corporeal pleasures of older sporting bodies. The paper concludes that there is a need to explore the significance of locally specific public knowledge from older people which directly addresses the complexity and inequalities of individuals' everyday lives in their communities; lived experiences likely to impact on preferences for, engagement in, and enjoyment of physical activity.
Highlights
The global population is aging with implications for all sectors in society including public health, physical activity, and community sport
In responding to the criticisms of the politics of aging and active aging we have introduced, this paper discusses the qualitative findings of a complex community sport project delivered with low income older age people (60+ years) living in the London (UK) Borough of Hounslow between 2013 and 2017
Our work demonstrates that experiences of physical activity in older age go beyond the pursuit of public health as the absence or risk reduction of disease
Summary
The global population is aging with implications for all sectors in society including public health, physical activity, and community sport. As Mary emphasized “ well look – who can do what you did in your 20s, but it doesn’t matter – I can get the tea and organize the Bingo and go to the shops every day and all of that and I am active (F, 65+ white female sheltered accommodation) Such examples illustrate the enabling features in the capacity of some older people to successfully adapt to the biological and social corporeal markers of change that characterize aging. There were strong expressions that older people felt like outsiders in community sport Their affective responses to sport, largely featuring feelings of shame and embarrassment at believing they would to be incapable of taking part, indicated that physical health problems framed a sense of stigma about both the aging process and physical activity participation. As Eman (2012) has noted, sporting engagement in older age may allow people to make sense of the aging process and re-define a personal capability model of aging that challenges the idea of certain decline in old age
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