MEDICAL FITNESS AND ACTIVE AGING
COMMUNITIES WORKING TOGETHER TO PREVENT CHRONIC DISEASE IN OLDER ADULTS
VANCOUVER, B.C. (April 30, 2003)-With 125
million North Americans living with one or more chronic health conditions,
the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has made disease
prevention its primary goal. Chronic illness prevention and treatment is
also the overarching purpose of the Medical Fitness Association (MFA) and
the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA). These two organizations
have formed a professional service alliance to achieve greater results in
encouraging older adults to become and stay physically active, so they can
maintain an optimal quality of life. The ICAA is the world's largest senior
fitness and wellness association, and MFA is the only nonprofit organization
dedicated to medically based fitness, wellness and preventive healthcare.
"A growing number of associations and
organizations are interested in the aging market today," says Colin Milner,
the ICAA's CEO. "For many, including the MFA, the active aging market is not
a primary focus, but it is for the ICAA. Rather than duplicating our
efforts, the MFA has decided to work with our organization, so we can
achieve more significant change together." He adds, "We commend the Medical
Fitness Association for joining with us in our efforts to change the way
society ages."
For the ICAA and its members, the MFA/ICAA
alliance will offer resources and support for working to prevent and treat
chronic conditions in older adults through physical activity. "The medical
wellness community is used to dealing with chronic health issues," says
Milner, "and we will certainly benefit from the help and expertise of the
MFA and its members in this area."
Robert D. Boone, the MFA's immediate past
president, says, "By bringing together the facilities represented by the MFA
with the ICAA's advocacy, research and general expertise on activity and
aging, this alliance will enhance opportunities for older adults to prevent
or treat age-related chronic illnesses through exercise." According to
Boone, the ICAA and MFA "will work together to promote fun, enjoyable, safe
and beneficial ways of increasing the activity levels of older adults." He
adds that the relationship will also provide networking and educational
opportunities for members of both groups.
Fittingly, the MFA/ICAA alliance comes on
the heels of the Department of Health and Human Services' April 2003 summit,
entitled Steps to a Healthier US: Putting Prevention First. At the
conference, HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson challenged delegates to create
strategies to help prevent chronic illness in Americans.
The ICAA also participates in the National
Blueprint coalition, a group of more than 50 national organizations working
to increase physical fitness among 50-plus adults. Contributors to the
Blueprint's development include AARP, the American College of Sports
Medicine, the American Geriatrics Society, the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, the National Institute on Aging and the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation.
According to Milner, the MFA/ICAA alliance
represents a natural progression into expanding the ICAA network of support
to other groups that want to educate their members about the active aging
market. Organizations supported in various ways by the ICAA include the
following:
• American Senior Fitness Association
• Athletic Business
• Bodylife
• BCRPA
• Canadian Fitness Business
• Can Fit Pro
• Club Business International
• Club Industry
• Club Insider News
• Club Success
• Fit Commerce
• Fitness Management
• IDEA Source
• Medical Fitness Association
• Texas Assisted Living Association
About Medical Fitness Association (MFA)
Founded in 1991, MFA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to medically
based fitness, wellness and preventive healthcare. MFA is a professional
membership organization whose mission is to ascertain and respond to the
needs of centers that are owned, sponsored or operated by hospitals and
physician groups in the United States, Canada, Japan and Great Britain. The
organization also serves as a resource for hospitals and other healthcare
related organizations ready to enter the wellness and fitness center
business.
About the International Council on Active
Aging (ICAA)
The ICAA is the world's largest organization dedicated to changing the way
we age by uniting and working with professionals in the retirement, assisted
living, fitness, recreation, rehabilitation and wellness fields. It connects
a community of like-minded professionals who share the goals of changing
society's perceptions of aging and improving the quality of life for aging
Baby Boomers and older adults within the six dimensions of wellness. The
council supports these professionals with education, information, resources
and tools, so they can achieve optimal success with this growing market.
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