This white paper, “It’s About Ability, Not Age: Ending Ageist Assumptions in Physical Activity Programming”, published in the Generations Now Journal by the American Society on Aging in May 2025, was written by a group of seasoned fitness and health professionals: Erin Eleuterio, Holly Benson, Jojo McDuffie, Patrician Linderman, Laura Dow, Cheryl Whitelaw, Jennifer Winters and Lynn Jordan.
The paper explores the negative result of naming physical activity programs based on age such as “senior” “elderly” “silver” “golden years”. As we wrote, “These age-based titles often reinforce outdated notions of fragility and incapability. Our systems are designed to help—but they’re built on the faulty foundation of age-based assumptions. And that’s a form of ageism.”
Research has continually demonstrated that human bodies can gain strength, mobility, cardiovascular capability and endurance throughout our lives including the entire older adult demographic. Individuals may have physical or medical issues limiting or affecting their movement, however, their situations are not due to their age.
We strongly recommend using non-age based titles for classes i.e. “beginner yoga”, “Strong and Balanced” and include physical requirements for participating safely such as: “able to get up and down from the floor safely” “able to stand and move at a moderate level of intensity for 45 minutes” “ability to safely hold and grip fitness equipment for 30 minutes”. Adding this information helps prospective participants “self-select” and supports each person’s ability to self-determine enhancing self-confidence, perhaps strengthening their motivation to join the activity.
Copy and paste the link below to read the full article:
https://generations.asaging.org/its-about-ability-not-age