Daily HealthBeat Tip

The pathway to friendship.

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, this is HHS HealthBeat.

Friends keep you going in lots of ways, and some of those ways are physical. Especially as people age, they rely on friends to help them do things, such as get to places when they no longer drive. But that's not the only way. Joining a group is a great way to take up the habit of being active, because you make friends. And those friends are there to encourage you if you begin to lose that new habit of being active. At HHS' Administration on Aging, program specialist Kay Loughery:

"Especially if you think about, if you've started a walking program and some day you say, 'Oh, gee, I'd rather not go today,' but your friend calls you and says 'Come on, let's go with the group�.' I guess it's really again the buddy system � somebody who's kind of urging you on seems to make a difference for people."

Community groups such as rec centers are good places to start. Through its You Can! Campaign, HHS is giving community groups help in encouraging seniors to make healthier choices in what they do and also what they eat.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: July 29, 2005

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