Through our commitment to the national Live Longer Better programme, Active Cumbria has established the Live Longer Better in Cumbria programme

As one of our strategic objectives, we will prioritise effort and resources to the people and places where the highest levels of inequality exist, focussing across the life course. Live Longer Better in Cumbria will compliment our goal to support older adults, particularly those with or at risk of long-term health conditions to be more active.

Activity, physical, cognitive and emotional, is of vital importance in achieving optimal ageing. Optimal ageing is closing the gap between your actual level of ability and your best possible level of ability by preventing loss of fitness or regaining lost fitness through activity that challenges body, brain and mind. 

The benefits of physical activity are obvious but worth remembering. Older adults should do some type of physical activity every day. It can help to improve your health and reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. Studies have linked being inactive with being overweight and obese, type 2 diabetes, some types of cancer, and early death.

Adults aged 65 and over should:

• aim to be physically active every day, even if it's just light activity
• do activities that improve strength, balance and flexibility on at least 2 days a week
• do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity if you are already active, or a combination of both
• reduce time spent sitting or lying down and break up long periods of not moving with some activity

Mental activity increases your ability to think clearly and logically. Increasing cognitive fitness and social activity will help emotional fitness, not just feeling better because people have done something nice for you but because you have done something good for other people.  

These are simple principles based on strong scientific evidence, but we live in a society in which many people, including highly trained people, are ignorant or confused about what is going on and how to cope with it.