PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OF ELDERLY PEOPLE AS A PUBLIC POLICY OBJECT

Population aging is a fundamental demographic process determining changes of the age groups structure in all developed countries. Russia is no exception in witnessing this process. Fostering physical activity of elderly people is one of the key areas of the public policy in the majority of countries. At the same time, little attention is paid to the promotion of a healthy lifestyle among the Russian elderly. Measures taken are sporadic and non-systematic. The article analyses the benefits of physical activity programs and discusses the factors motivating elderly people to get engaged in fitness training and sports. The authors also focus on methods and instruments of the public policy of developed countries aimed at encouraging a healthy lifestyle of the elderly on both federal and local levels. The article offers a typology of measures outside Russia and highlights the most efficient of them. In conclusion the authors emphasize the peculiarities of tailoring foreign practices to the contemporary Russian reality.