Research Roundup

In 2019 in the UK, an estimated 885,000 people were living with dementia. Although people can still live well with dementia, exercise is one of the approaches that can help both with the management of symptoms and sustaining independence. Even though many exercise classes for older people take place across the UK, there is limited information about the geographical distribution of these classes.

In this study, Long et al (2023) aimed to investigate the location of exercise classes in the UK region of the East Midlands and how they are distributed in relation to siting, population age, socio-economic status, and population density. This would allow the effective planning of the location of classes to enable improved access for the population they are designed for.

The authors used a geographic information software system that allows data input, storage, mapping, and spatial analysis, and identified 520 exercise classes, evenly spread across the region, including areas of socio-economic deprivation. A total of 471 (90%) classes were in urban areas; 428 (80%) in areas where fewer than 20% of the population was over 65 years of age; and only 13 (2%) stated that they were suitable for people with dementia. The study concludes that ‘[p]eople living with dementia are less likely than older people without dementia to have access to exercise classes.’