STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AMONG THE ELDERLY IN THE GCC: A NARRATIVE REVIEW

Physical activity (PA) has numerous health benefits for both physical and psychological well-being.However, physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyle are associated with all-cause mortality, chronic non-communicable diseases, and falls in the elderly. Studies indicate that despite the efforts of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to provide healthcare services, physical inactivity and associated health problems continue to rise in Arab countries, including those in theGCC states, with a high prevalence among adults, especially women.Objective of this review is to assess and summarize recommendations from clinical guidelines for PAin elderly. This review aims to identify successful strategies for improving PA among the elderly in the Arabian Gulf States by searching through peer-reviewed articles and grey literature. A lack of scholarly works on PA in the GCC countries, specifically among older people, makes the assessment of this phenomenon challenging. The persistence of physical inactivity among the elderly in the GCC states can be attributed to environmental and cultural factors, including a western medical model, urbanization, motorization, sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy eating habits, and lack of facilities and infrastructure to promote PA. The article recommends a multi-level strategy to improve PA participation among the elderly, including supervised regular exercise, self-reporting of aerobic routines, motivation counseling, and a healthy diet. Governments in the GCC should also address barriers to PA engagement at the intrapersonal, social, environmental, and policy levels, to enable the elderly to achieve and maintain good health and high quality of life. Identifying barriers to PA participation and adherence is crucial to formulating sustainable strategies to improve the physical performance of this group.