1. Age Action Alliance: Public
health and an active
lifestyle
Dr Nori Graham

2. Professor Jerry Morris
1910 - 2009

3. Professor Jerry Morris
The first research physician to:
• demonstrate link between exercise and health
(in 1953)
• define public health with a focus on the role that
lifestyle plays in the development of chronic
disease
He lived 99 years but has achieved immortality!

4. Exercise: the cheapest super drug
Regular exercise helps to prevent :
• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Type 2 Diabetes
• Depression
• Stroke
• Vascular dementia
• Loneliness and isolation

5. Sixty years on
Public policy catches up with science

6. Sixty years on
• Impact of ageing society on low income
older people highlighted
• DWP approaches Social Justice
Committee
• Redefine retirement - active phase of life
• Decision to initiate a community based
alliance of civil society organisations

8. Early principles
• Focus on the most disadvantaged people
in later life
• Prevent people becoming disadvantaged
and isolated in later life
• Champion new ways of working
• Commitment to practical action
• Not a campaigning body

9. Launch of the Age Action Alliance
30 September 2011
By Jan 2012, 180 organisations had agreed to join
the Alliance.
• Private Sector 20
• Statutory Sector 27
• Government Depts 11
• Local Authorities 5
• Older People’s Groups 2
• Voluntary Sector 66

10. How will the Alliance work?
• Engaging older people to find out what is important
to them and then acting on it
• Alliance partners grouping together when it adds
value
• Build on current best practice
• Updating each other on all activities
• Working groups focussed on different areas to kick
start
• Developing some measurable goals to show that the
Alliance is making a difference to people’s lives

11. Drawn from our
English Forums –
Older People
have a seat on
Ways of working
the Steering Secretariat DWP/
Group, each AGE UK
Working Group
and form the
Reference Group.
Working Working
Groups Groups
Reference Working Working
Steering Group
Group Groups Groups
Working Working Working
Groups Groups Groups

12. Initial Working Groups
• Public health and Active Lifestyles
• Safe warm homes
• Improving the lives of excluded groups
• Loneliness and isolation
• Age-friendly cities
• Digital inclusion
• Attitudes to ageing

13. Public Health and Active Lifestyles
working group
5 Ways to Health and Wellbeing*
An individual needs to :
– connect
– take notice
– be active
– learn
– give
*New Economics Forum commissioned by Foresight

14. Public Health and Active Lifestyles
working group
Identify one or more initiatives which meet
certain agreed criteria:
• Meets one or more areas of focus of the
Alliance
• Tried and tested
• Shown to be user friendly and accessed
by local people
• Ability to scale up programme

15. The Fit as a Fiddle programme –
My understanding
• Age UK initiative funded by the Big Lottery
fund for 5 years
• Run by volunteers who receive training
• Supports older people with a series of
national programmes promoting:
Increased physical activity
Healthy eating
Mental wellbeing

16. The Fit as a Fiddle Approach
• Fits our theme of 5 Ways to Health and
Wellbeing
• Meets our criteria
• Helps address loneliness and isolation
• Improves knowledge of diet, cooking and
nutrition and tackle obesity
• Enhances general wellbeing
• Encourages employers to include
programmes
• Sustainable

17. Fit as a Fiddle: Challenge of
delivery
• Post the programme on the Alliance web
site www.ageactionalliance.org /
Connections (a regular bulletin)
• Encourage partners separately or in
groups to set targets
• Make the case to the Health and
Wellbeing Boards to give their support for
action
• Monitor and evaluate

18. Jerry Morris
Will his dream be fulfilled?