Ireland’s over 50s are getting on their bikes

Dublin People 12 Dec 2015
Pictured at the launch by Age & Opportunity and Sport Ireland of research on activity in older people are (left to right) Arthur Dempsey, Marie Lawless, Richard Farrell, Kathleen Devlin and Tony McCarthy. Photo by Tommy Clancy

IRISH people who are over 50-years-of-age are now more likely to be active than inactive, according to a new survey from Age & Opportunity’s Go for Life and Sport Ireland.

The research, launched last week by Minister of State for Sport, Michael Ring, shows that 53 per cent of older adults can be classed as ‘active’ instead of ‘low or not active’.

Just over half of those are getting half-an-hour of physical activity five days a week, so they are reaching the national guidelines for adults.

Age & Opportunity and Sport Ireland have been tracking the behaviours and attitudes of older people since 2006 and this has been the first time that active older people are in the majority, though the research has been seeing activity levels slowly rising over that time from 39 per cent to 53 per cent.

Speaking at the launch of the research in the Alexander Hotel, Minister Ring stated: “One of my priorities is to increase participation in sport and physical activity across all ages and groups. I am very aware of the importance of sport and physical activity in the lives of all Irish people, both socially and from a health perspective. Go for Life is doing a wonderful job of providing greater opportunities for older people to enjoy all the benefits that participation can bring.”

“The research is great news,” added Go for Life manager Mary Harkin.

 “It shows the kind of impact that programmes like Go for Life are having on the lives and health of older people across the country. While the work of Go for Life continues community-by-community with our physical activity leaders providing peer support to get people active, it feels like we’ve reached a bit of a milestone by becoming the majority.”

John Treacy, Chief Executive of Sport Ireland, explained: “From the perspective of public health it is great to see the numbers of older people meeting the National Physical Activity Guidelines. These changes are in no small part a testimony to the work of the many sporting organisations including the Local Sports Partnership who continue to direct and focus their efforts towards inactive groups. The challenge now is to maintain the good work and keep Ireland active.”

 The majority of people are becoming healthier and more active simply by increasing their walking speed and making time for a regular walk each day. Apart from walking, the most popular activities are swimming and golf among those over 50. One area that is seeing a notable rise is the popularity of cycling among older people. 

Since 2011, the numbers on their bikes have risen from four to seven per cent, having passed out activities like dancing and weight training. While this may be due to increases and improvements in cycle routes, to the popularity of cycling among the general population or to other factors, it is expected that there will be an increased number of older people getting up on their bikes.

“At the same time, we can’t be complacent,” warned Ms Harkin. “The research is clear that there are still a lot of people who feel completely excluded from sport and physical activity.

“Through the Small Grant Scheme and through our other work, we are trying to empower people in their own communities to get more active and to open the door for other people to take part.

“What we have seen over the years is that people want to take part but have been put off by misconceptions about sport. Go for Life shows them that it can be fun.”

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