and F E Close (in preparation

Older adult health promotion and disease prevention is one of the top priorities for the Administration on Aging. The Administration on Aging plays an important role in the larger Federal effort to promote healthy lifestyles, particularly among older populations. Although illness and disability rates increase with age, a large body of research demonstrates that health promotion and disease prevention activities can help ensure healthy and independent lives for older Americans. For example, exercise and other health-promoting behaviors have been shown to improve aerobic power, strength, balance, and flexibility, while decreasing acute medical problems such as fractures, myocardial infarctions, and cerebral vascular accidents in older persons. Screenings, such as mammograms and evaluations of stool specimens, have been shown to decrease morbidity and extend life in this group as well (Rabiner et al., 2004).1 The Administration on Aging, along with its other Federal partners, has worked to use this evidence-based knowledge to improve the health and independence of the nation’