GOOD BOOST: FIT FOR LIFE’S 2021 AWARD WINNERS

GOOD BOOST

FIT FOR LIFE’S 2021 AWARD WINNERS

In 2020, the number of people aged 60 or over will surpass one billion. By 2045, this number is expected to reach one in every five people. In order to meet the needs of this ageing population, many industries will increasingly embrace the concept of ‘active ageing’, focusing on services that can assist older adults in developing and accessing the opportunities offered by a greater life expectancy.

​The Fit for Life Foundation (FFL) translates into action the philosophy of active ageing, aiming to promote active lifestyles, fitness and independent mobility among middle-aged and older people worldwide, and supports innovative, high-impact projects through its annual Fit for Life Awards.

These awards provide multi-year support and international visibility to innovative, impactful projects in rapidly ageing communities. FFL awards annual grants of EUR 100,000 each to three non-profit organisations or social enterprises that are pioneering projects to promote life-long fitness and health around the world.

The grants are distributed over three years to allow for tracking and monitoring of the project’s performance and impact. This multi-year support empowers Laureates, enabling them to steadily scale up their programmes, while growing public awareness of the importance of healthy ageing. FFL’s founder, Jack Lowe, is turning 80 this year, and still striving hard to spark change and challenge stereotypes.

Exercise has always been a big part of my life. And as I entered my 70s, I realised how important exercise was to continue to do the things I love: riding my bike, travelling, and spending quality time with friends and family. Physical activity is essential to our long-term health. Getting fit and staying physically active are the best investments you can make for a long and healthy life.

– Jack Lowe, Champion of the Fit for Life Philosophy

The FFL team are pushing their mission to drive change: creating solutions for Active Ageing globally. It’s not just an award, but support for three years to scale three award winners for 2021.

This year, one of those three winners is Good Boost: a social enterprise founded in 2018 specialising in therapeutic and rehabilitative exercise programmes that target musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, such as arthritis and back pain. With a combination of clinical knowledge and advanced digital technologies, they have pioneered exercises that can be used on land and in water, for treatment, management and prevention of MSK conditions. In fact, their solutions offer to sustain MSK wellbeing by “converting any space into a therapeutic place”.

Since starting as a research project, it has been their goal to innovate cost-effective and accessible options for MSK community health services. Good Boost shares, “We want everyone to love looking after their musculoskeletal wellbeing by moving more, having fun and feeling better.”

With that aim, Good Boost has partnered with health institutions, charities, and leisure providers to develop an app that assesses individual user needs, creating a personalised training routine suited to their specific requirements - all through the power of artificial intelligence.

It is incredible to be recognised by FFL as one of the leading solutions in active ageing from over 600 entrants around the world. It highlights the dedication and multidisciplinary talents of the entire Good Boost team and our partners, through creating solutions that solve problems and barriers that older adults face in being more active, more often.

– Ben Wilkins, CEO of Good Boost

Participants are provided with special waterproof tablets where they can access the app and follow along with their personal set of exercises in training sessions. In a group setting, participants experience a boost to their motivation, as well as their mental and emotional health.

It’s shown that more than half of participants continue to attend the program beyond 24 weeks, and two-thirds of participants have reported a significant improvement in their level of activity after using Good Boost’s exercise plan. Moreover, 64% of participants reported a pain reduction of 56% after following the program at 0-24 weeks.

With projects like Good Boost, one can see how addressing opportunities created by an ageing population can defy negative stereotypes about older adults and highlights just how beneficial it is to nourish the demands of those who want to live longer and in good health. FFL’s Awards promote the world-changing impact of such projects, with the hopes of having others get involved in their ethos and mission.