Playground Guide - 2019 - 16

SPECIAL
ADVERTISING
SECTION

PHOTO COURTESY OF GALVESTON COUNTY DAILY NEWS/STUART VILLANUEVA

Eighty-four-year-old Zady Jones walks
across a rope step bridge at the senior
outdoor fitness area at Carbide Park in La
Marque, Texas.

Numerous studies exist about the
benefits for older adults from being
physically active - longer, healthier
lives; a reduction in chronic diseases like diabetes and heart problems;
and, for many, a way to stay socially
engaged. A recent study conducted
by National Institute on Aging researchers at Illinois' Rush University
to test the connection between physical activity and cognitive performance indicates that for older adults,
" better motor abilities or higher levels of physical activity were associated with better cognitive performance. " These findings highlight the
potential benefits of outdoor fitness
areas for adults.
Outdoor fitness equipment for

Parks & Recreation

older adults generally focuses on improving their flexibility, strength and
balance and providing them with aerobic activities. Instead of sandboxes
and monkey bars, sit-up machines,
treadmills and elliptical cross trainers and stationary bikes are more
the norm. In some places, outdoor
fitness areas are designed specifically
for use by older adults, but more and
more, they are being placed near existing playground equipment so that
families can play together.
Most health organizations recommend roughly 30 minutes per
day, five days a week of moderately
heart-pumping exercise for adults
ages 18 and older. Walking is the

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go-to exercise for many older adults
because it's practical, beneficial and,
outside of the cost of a good pair of
walking shoes, there's a low pointof-entry cost. Muscle strengthening
exercises for a minimum of two sessions per week are also recommended to help combat age-related muscle
loss; however, a small percentage
(10-12 percent) of older adults engage in this type of exercise. This
is where outdoor fitness areas, designed with older adults in mind and
with easy access to free equipment,
can have a major impact.

Safety and Signage
Mobility and fear are two factors
that come into play as we age and
must be factored into outdoor fitness
equipment design for older adults.
Unfortunately, in many underserved
communities, the challenge begins
with not only having great outdoor
fitness areas but in making the ones
that do exist safe. This means that
providing the community with the
opportunity to share its needs and
desires, working with community
members and educating them about
the overall benefits of creating these
types of safe spaces is the upfront
work needed before a discussion
about having an outdoor fitness area
can even begin.

http://www.TION.ORG

Playground Guide - 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Playground Guide - 2019