Being physically active is just one way to age: Accepting difference and diversity in later life

In most developed nations, physical activity and sport participation are promoted ‘to all’, regardless of age, gender, race or circumstance. Alongside the neoliberal shift in social policy more broadly, a taken-for-granted assumption in our culture is that physical activity across the lifespan is inherently ‘good’ (for oneself and society at large) and inactivity or sedentary behaviour is ‘bad’ (for one’s health and for the health care budget) (Gard et al., 2016/2017). However, when it comes to ageing, positioning physically active leisure pursuits primarily as a health measure in promotion and policy is problematic, especially when one considers the randomness of many age-related diseases, the inevitability of the physiological ageing process and the socio-cultural determinants of health outcomes (Gard & Dionigi, 2016). In other words, an individual’s level of inactivity cannot always be blamed for age-related diseases or rising costs to health care, especially in older individuals, due to the many physiological, social, cultural, dietary, psychological etc. factors that affect our health.