What is Live Longer Better?

As we age our health changes and activities in life can get more difficult. Our physical , cognitive and emotional health and wellbeing can decline. Live Longer Better aims to change that

Live Longer Better is a national network that aims to develop a new culture. It’s not just about living longer… it’s about living healthier.

We know that Gloucestershire is an ageing county, more so than the national average.

21.7% of Gloucestershire’s population is over the age of 65, compared to 18.6% in England and Wales (this will differ by district). Population predictions estimate that Gloucestershire’s older adult population is due to increase by 38% in the next 20 years. 51000 people aged 65+ currently physically ‘inactive’ and not achieving at last 30 minutes of activity a week. With trends showing that activity levels decrease with age, and Gloucestershire being an ageing county, we want to ensure we create the conditions locally to make Gloucestershire a great county to age well.

Staying active has so many benefits and can directly affect our ability to live independently which is why we want to support people to live longer better through physical activity. We want our ageing population to keep their independence for as long as possible and by working with organisations across the county, we can do just that.

In Gloucestershire we are activating Live Longer Better by:

Supporting the development of inclusive & sustainable activities for older adults
Develop the workforce of those supporting older adults (from health & social care to activity providers)
Working with organisations across the county to set Live Longer Better as a strategic priority and to spread awareness about the positive impact physically active has on supporting us to stay stay independent for longer

It’s not just about living longer… it’s about living healthier

Healthy life expectancy hasn’t kept up with our longer life spans, so we might be living longer, but we’re also spending more years in a period of high-dependency as we deal with multiple long-term conditions.

Live Longer Better aims to increase our HEALTHspan.

The Ageing Process

The Ageing Process shows how most of us will develop from birth and then reach a turning point in our late twenties to Thirties when we start to decline.

Live Longer Better is looking at ways to close the gap between the actual rate of decline and the best possible rate of decline.

Conditions affecting the rate of decline

There are a variety of conditions that can affect that rate that we decline, such as inequalities, lack of fitness, disease and negative thinking.

Key Themes

Ageism: Changing attitude towards ageing

Live Longer Better Gloucestershire aims to shift beliefs around physical activity for older adults.

We have teamed up with Age UK Gloucestershire to challenge ageism.
Reducing the risk of dementia

Live Longer Better Gloucestershire supports Gloucestershire’s Dementia Strategy. The strategy is split into key objectives, with Live Longer Better supporting both ‘Preventing Well’ and ‘Living Well’. The role physical activity has in preventing risk of dementia is well documented. For those diagnosed with dementia, remaining active can help promote independence.
Preventing frailty

To be an older adult does not automatically mean to be frail. Find out how being active can reduce the chances of you becoming frail.

Useful resources

About Live Longer Better

Live Longer Better is a national network, led by Sir Muir Grey – Muir, who has national and international recognition, has worked in public health since 1972, a real mover and shaker and a published author.

The Network objectives strive to develop a new culture: