Jean V. Scott turned 90 in November and still drives, walks short distances and dances the "Cupid Shuffle"—a hip-hop line dance good for the hips, legs and lungs. She credits her mobility to a three-times-a-week exercise program called EnhanceFitness. "Exercise gives people like me, who live in a retirement community, something to get up for each day," says Scott, who lives in the Heritage Community of Kalamazoo, MI, and is the first in her family to live into her 90s. "It makes us feel good."
EnhanceFitness for seniors
Launched 20 years ago, EnhanceFitness was designed and rigorously tested by the School of Public Health's Health Promotion Research Center and its partners, Group Health and Senior Services, a nonprofit agency serving Seattle and King County. Today, it is one of the most widely delivered, evidence-based, group-exercise programs for older adults. EnhanceFitness has been run in more than 500 senior centers and other sites in 30 states, reaching more than 25,000 people. It keeps on growing. The YMCA of the USA recently rolled out the program to an additional 21 Y associations in 60 communities and is planning to promote it at more.
"With older adults as the fastest-growing group of YMCA members, having a program like EnhanceFitness helps improve their overall health and well-being," says Ann-Hilary Heston, manager of chronic disease prevention programs for the Chicago-based agency. Heston notes about half of adults are affected by arthritis, the most common cause of disability. She says EnhanceFitness has been proven to help adults grow stronger, improve their balance and become more limber. It also boosts their activity levels, elevates their mood and relieves arthritis pain.
Each class lasts an hour and costs about $3 per person. Exercises focus on breathing capacity, balance, flexibility, and strength — helping seniors eat and bathe on their own and walk to a corner grocery store. Ernestine Robinson, an instructor at the Central Area Senior Center in Seattle, says she sees improved agility among her participants, who range in age from their mid-60s to their early 90s. One recently told Robinson she could now easily climb the school bleachers to watch her grandson's basketball games. "One of the things seniors really want is independence," Robinson says. "This class definitely enhances that."
Research on EnhanceFitness has shown that participants improve their physical, emotional and social health, says Dr. Jeffrey Harris, director of the Health Promotion Research Center, which has been funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 28 years. Because classes are conducted in groups of about 20, he says, seniors are motivated to keep coming back to socialize with others.
A recent report to Congress by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services showed EnhanceFitness resulted in lower health care costs, fewer unplanned hospitalizations, and fewer deaths among Medicare enrollees. Harris hopes those findings will lead to expanded delivery of the program. "We've known it's effective for a long time," he says. "Evidence that it lowers costs should help us garner the support to deliver it to more people."