With the aging of the population, an increasing sex ratio of women to
men, the potential for increased disability-free life expectancy, and
increasing health-care costs, health promotion and physical activity p
ersonnel engaged in research, policy, or practice need a full understa
nding of the physical, cultural, and social context in which consecuti
ve age cohorts move through life. This paper integrates research infor
mation from health promotion, the physical activity sciences, social g
erontology, and demography; it is divided into six sections focusing o
n demographic and cultural diversity, the cultural meaning of physical
activity, active lifestyles, catalysts and barriers to the emergence
of an active older population, and promoting lifelong active living. E
mploying a macro (societal) rather than a micro (individual) level of
analysis, the paper emphasizes that aging is a lifelong social process
leading to diverse lifestyles in middle and later adulthood, that the
re is considerable heterogeneity in physical and social experiences an
d capacities within and between age cohorts, and that aging is a women
's issue, particularly with respect to health and activity promotion.