Active for Life National Program Office Launched
American College of Sports Medicine

We are pleased to announce the launch of Active for Life: Improving Physical Activity Levels in Adults Age 50 and Older. The four-year, $8.7-million grants program, administered through the School of Rural Public Health (SRPH), part of The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center, is supported by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Under the direction of Marcia Ory who has recently joined the faculty at the SRPH, the National Program Office will provide technical assistance and support for up to eight grants to be awarded to local, state, or regional organizations who respond to the Active for Life Call for Proposal.

Over a four-year period, Active for Life grantee sites will recruit 1,000 people age 50 and older to participate in programs that will test, replicate, and expand a research tested method to increase physical activity among mid-life and older adults at the community level. The grantees will work with one of two model strategies that help participants incorporate physical activity into their daily routines.

These are models that have been successful in highly controlled research settings. We are eager to investigate how effective the interventions are for mid-life and older adults when implemented in real-world community settings with more diverse populations.

More information about Active for Life is available on the web at www.activeforlife.info or through our email address activeforlife@srph.tamu.edu. Specifically we refer you to the Call for Proposal which was released on January 23, 2002.