1. Fit as a Fiddle - a Lasting Legacy
Jackie Hayhoe
fit as a fiddle Portfolio Manager
2. Why is Fit as a Fiddle
Needed
The older you are the less you participate.
(A vision for 2020, Sport England 2004)
Among people older than 65, 12% cannot manage
walking outside on their own and 9% cannot manage
the stairs unaided.
25% of women and 7 % of men do not have sufficient
leg strength to get out of a chair without using their
arms.
20% of women and 14% of men over 50 do not have
the flexibility to wash their hair comfortably.
(Skelton et al 1998)
3. What is Fit as a Fiddle
A Holistic Approach to
Improving the Health and
Well Being of Older People
4. About Fit as a Fiddle
• £15.1m funding from Big Lottery over 5 years
• 24 different projects delivered across the England by over
500 organisations
• 2 national programmes
• Award winning programme
• Recognition from the European Commission and World
Health Organisation
• Externally evaluated and validated
13. Interim Evaluation Findings
• 21% of fit as a fiddle participants have “not good” health
• 42% of fit as a fiddle participants have a limiting longstanding
illness
• 76% of fit as a fiddle participants were women
•25% of fit as a fiddle participants are aged over 80
• 71.2 average age for men
• 70.5 average age for women
• 83.8% of fit as a fiddle participants were white British, but
higher than average attendances with
• 4.3% Asian or Asian British: Indian
• 2.53% Asian or Asian British: Pakistani
Source Ecorys Interim Evaluation Report, October 2011
14. The impacts…..
• 33% increase in the amount of walking reported between the
start of fit as a fiddle and 3 months afterwards
• An average increase per person from 60 minutes of physical
activity per week, to 77.5 minutes per week
• An increase in strength and balance exercise with a median of
70 minutes per week, rising to 92.5 minutes per week at the end
of fit as a fiddle and then rising again to 120 minutes. A 71%
increase from baseline.
•13% increase in the amount of fruit and vegetables eaten, rising
from 4 to 4.5
• Increased levels of independence and opportunities for
social inclusion leading to reduced isolation
15. The real impacts……
“After suffering from ME for 25 years I am now experiencing a big
improvement in my health”
“I couldn’t even get out of the bath….so I stopped having baths.
Since I’ve been coming I can now do that”
“I feel much more confident that I’m not going to fall”
“I found within the first 6 weeks, my doctor was saying what are
you doing?”
“I can now brush my hair”
16. THANK YOU
Any Questions
Jackie Hayhoe
jackie.hayhoe@ageuk.org.uk