Centre of Active Aging created at Comenius University
Bratislava, 14 October 2021: The new Centre of Active Ageing at Comenius University Bratislava intends to improve the physical fitness of senior citizens and promote a healthy lifestyle. The centre offers programmes aimed at health prevention and promotion, is staffed by professionals, and performs its own research. Its opening ceremony is scheduled to take place on 19 October 2021, following 15 months of construction.
The Centre of Active Ageing is a part of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports of Comenius University. It is staffed by experts from the faculty and includes a practice of a sports physician. Seniors receive individual treatment and the goal of the centre is to improve their physical fitness and general health. The facilities include a mobility training room, a specialised weight-lifting gym and a swimming pool. The centre is fully accessible for people with reduced mobility.
"Most modern-day fitness centres are full of young, sporty people. Rather than attracting senior citizens, they have a discouraging effect on them. It is our ambition to ensure that our centre offers a friendly environment in which experienced instructors provide guidance in the form of exercise programmes adapted to the needs of older adults, including people with disabilities," says the project’s sponsor, Professor Dušan Hamar. "Our ambition is to use the centre to educate about a healthy lifestyle and to promote appropriate forms of physical activity which can improve the general health and increase the quality of life of our elderly citizens," he adds.
According to the centre’s experts, regular physical activity acts as prevention. It has a positive effect on one's health, mobility and independence, while also boosting one's self-respect and cognitive functions. Activity also mitigates chronic musculoskeletal pain, minimizes the risk of cardiovascular diseases and reduces both direct and indirect health care expenditures.
In addition to physical activities, the centre offers educational programmes focusing on the management of physical activity at home, the nutrition of seniors, on social services and geriatric care.
"Both the WHO and the Slovak National Programme for the Promotion of Health emphasize the importance of physical activity of seniors. I am pleased that the first centre of this kind in the region was established at Comenius University. I am also glad that our senior citizens now have the opportunity to follow coordinated programmes under the supervision of our qualified experts," said the Rector of Comenius University Marek Števček.
The project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund under INTERREG V-A, the cross-border cooperation programme between Slovak Republic and Austria.