Active Start is a physical activity program for the elderly. The program uses the OASIS HealthStages program, an evidence-based community health education program designed for older adults, and The Cooper Institute’s Active Living Every Day course in order to emphasize healthy aging by helping participants set personal goals and develop self-management skills. The intervention model will consist of two classes, Active Living Every Day, a 20-week behavior modification course and ExerStart!. Participants will take the two classes in conjunction with each other starting with Active Living Every Day, and then adding ExerStart! after the second class of Active Living Every Day.

The goal of this project is to increase physical activity among sedentary older adults over three years. The project recruits older adults who are at risk and encourages them to incorporate physical activity into their lives.

The research on which this intervention is based showed that teaching people lifestyle skills such as setting realistic goals, identifying and addressing barriers to physical activity, and developing social support systems helps people become and stay physically active. The research on which this intervention is based showed that teaching people lifestyle skills such as setting realistic goals, identifying and addressing barriers to physical activity, and developing social support systems helps people become and stay physically active. This project will bring the benefits of these programs to a target population of 22,400 sedentary older adults in the Los Angeles area who are serviced by the OASIS center and two nutrition centers. Evaluation of the Active Start program has shown significant improvement in physical performance measures of strength, flexibility and balance in the intervention group, while no significant changes were noted in the waitlist comparison group. Similar improvements were found across White, African American and Hispanic participants.